


Fallen Angel in a Gay Bar

by digopheliadug



Category: Glee
Genre: Anxiety, Bullying, Light BDSM, M/M, Skank Kurt Hummel, Skank Quinn Fabray
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-06
Updated: 2015-12-05
Packaged: 2018-04-13 07:53:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 43,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4514001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digopheliadug/pseuds/digopheliadug
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>New in town, Sebastian finds himself at Scandals, where he meets the enigmatic and enticing Kurt.  Can Sebastian turn what started as a one-night stand into more, or will Kurt’s defensiveness and aloof persona prove too much to handle?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to [bononoh](http://bononoh.tumblr.com) for the beta. You can find me on tumblr at [digopheliadug](http://digopheliadug.tumblr.com).

It had been a few years since Sebastian was last in Ohio, and from what he dug up in his Yelp research, the social scene hadn’t improved much.  One thing that had swung in his favor, though, was that at 16 years old, Sebastian thought he had a chance of getting into a bar or club – provided he was able to scare up a decent fake ID and whoever was checking it wasn’t overly scrupulous in his job duties.

Sebastian had found out early on that if he wanted to achieve the status he deserved in his new environment he needed to join the a cappella choir, the Warblers.  The Warblers were like rock stars at Dalton Academy, and with his pull as their new soloist he was able to nail down the ID thing pretty quickly.  His new school was full of privileged rich boys like him, and though most of them were pretty boring, there were a couple that had the right connections to get a decent fake.

Of the party boys he met at Dalton, though, none were gay.  This meant that not only did he have to look off-campus for a fuck ( _serious hassle_ ), he didn’t have anyone to fill him in on the local “hotspots,” to the extent that such a thing existed in this Midwestern wasteland.  That left him trawling the web for info, which all seemed to point towards a place called  _Scandals_  in West Lima, where the bouncer was evidently selectively blind when checking the IDs of fresh meat.

Sebastian could only imagine the kind of gay bar he’d find in freaking  _West Lima, Ohio_ , and his greatest hope was that there’d be a single person there worth fucking.  Since he was hot, young, and new, he didn’t expect any trouble attracting whatever guy ended up the recipient of his attentions – he just hoped there was anyone remotely worthy of them.

* * *

On Friday afternoon he signed out of Dalton Academy for the weekend.  He boarded during the week, but he often found it convenient to spend weekends at his father’s house.  Nathaniel Smythe was kept very busy as Attorney General, and was at his office in Columbus even late into the night and on weekends.  This suited Sebastian just fine; he liked the freedom of an empty house, and he didn’t have to worry about getting home at a certain time.

He relaxed around the house for a while, getting some homework done and eating dinner.  Drinking on an empty stomach was never a good idea.  Heading to his closet to pick out an outfit, Sebastian paused, considering.  The outfits that he would have worn to go out when he was living in Paris would be absolute overkill in the environment he was headed for tonight.  Figuring that he wouldn’t go wrong with a classic look, he donned a pair of dark jeans, well-fitted but not skinny, and a black v-neck t-shirt.  He grabbed his keys and headed out the door, bracing himself against the uncertain night that lay ahead.

* * *

The websites Sebastian had perused weren’t lying when it came to the bouncer at  _Scandals_.  He was waved in with barely a glance at the ID that declared him 23 years old.  As his eyes adjusted to the lighting, he glanced around the smoky room to evaluate the possibilities.  As he expected, the majority of the patrons weren’t worth bothering with.  He saw a lot of middle-aged bears in baseball caps, which was definitely not his type.  There wasn’t much of a younger crowd, and what there was seemed like more of the same – your basic bear cubs.  He might have turned around and walked out altogether if it hadn’t been for the guy he spotted perched delicately on a bar stool, chatting with the girl next to him.

The girl was one of very few in the bar, and Sebastian thought she was probably very pretty, if you liked that sort of thing.  She and the boy both looked about his age, and they were dressed in some kind of alternative fashion that Sebastian couldn’t put a name to.  Whatever the style was called, it was certainly working for the boy.  He was dressed in skintight jeans that looked gray under the bar lighting, tucked into heavy motorcycle boots.  He had a black leather jacket with studded lapels draped loosely over his shoulders, unzipped.  Underneath the jacket he wore a t-shirt, but Sebastian could see even from halfway across the room that it wasn’t the type you could pull out of a Hanes 3-pack.  It was printed with an elaborate skull design, and the cut and finish were flawless, accenting the boy’s lean musculature.

His brown hair was streaked with blue, and his face… His face was an angelic contrast to his bad boy look.  His skin was clear and pale as marble, his lips pink and full, and his eyes were a stormy blue/green/gray that gleamed in the low light.  The contrast between face and persona was enhanced by the ring that gleamed in his eyebrow, interrupting the classical beauty of his features.  He was mysterious, and enthralling, and by God Sebastian wanted him.

It looked like the evening might not be a waste, after all.

Hooking his thumbs into his belt loops, Sebastian approached the bar near where the boy and girl were sitting, but didn’t spare them a glance.  Addressing the bartender, he requested, “a decent microbrew, if you’ve got one.”

The bartender shrugged and went to grab something from the cooler, returning with a beer whose label Sebastian didn’t recognize.  The girl snickered.

“It might be a microbrew, but I doubt much of anything here could be called  _decent_ ,” she said.

“I guess that’s what we get for living in this hick town,” the boy replied in a bored tone.

His voice was unusually high but a little rough.  Sebastian wondered if he might be a smoker.  He turned to address the pair as he took a first sip of his beer.

“Well, I’m new in town, and I figured it was worth chancing.  You never know where you might run across a hidden gem,” Sebastian said, giving the boy an unsubtle once-over.  He wrinkled his nose briefly – the boy was hot but the beer really was terrible.  “I’m Sebastian,” he introduced himself with a nod that encompassed the boy and girl both.

“Quinn,” replied the girl, holding out her hand as if to shake.  Sebastian took it, but instead of shaking it he pressed his lips lightly to the back.  Quinn laughed.  “If you’re here for me,” she said, “I think you’ve found yourself in the wrong kind of bar.”

“Not at all, Quinn,” Sebastian smiled.  “I’m just used to a different way of doing things.  I moved here recently from Paris, and it’s been quite an adjustment.”

“Paris?” asked the boy with an expression of mild disbelief.  “Who did you piss off to end up in Ohio?”  As he spoke, Sebastian caught the gleam of a tongue piercing, and his cock twitched at the thought of how it would feel to have the other boy’s pretty lips wrapped around him.

“My mother, unfortunately.  She thought I’d make less trouble here with my dad.  Something about a strong masculine influence,” Sebastian shrugged.  “I haven’t had the chance to make much trouble here yet, but I’m looking forward to getting started,” Sebastian finished with a leer.

“And that kind of line works on boys in Paris?” the other boy snarked with an arched eyebrow.

Taking in Sebastian’s slight frown and her friend’s defensive posture, Quinn intervened.  “My friend’s name is Kurt,” she said.  “And he’s not always this much of an asshole to cute boys,” she added, elbowing Kurt.

“I just don’t have the patience for games,” Kurt stated flatly, rolling his eyes at Quinn before giving Sebastian a challenging look.

“In that case,” said Sebastian, his lips tightening into a sly smirk, “are you down to fuck?”

Kurt eyed him consideringly for a moment before answering, “Sure, why not.”

* * *

Sebastian followed Kurt as he strode purposefully out of the club.  Just outside the door, Kurt buried his hands in Sebastian’s t-shirt and pressed him against the brick wall, aligning their hips and moving to mouth Sebastian’s neck.  He alternated hot, open-mouthed kisses with biting and –  _oh God_  – sucking that made Sebastian moan.

“My car is – " Sebastian began, dissolving into a low groan as Kurt bit down on the junction of his neck and shoulder.

“Relax,” Kurt said, his breath hot against Sebastian’s neck.  “We’ll get there.”

Sebastian felt the rough texture of the wall against the back of his head where he had thrown it back, granting Kurt access to more of his skin.  He laid his hands on Kurt, one at the boy’s waist and the other on his firm ass, in the back pocket of his sinfully tight jeans.  He pulled him closer, and Kurt insinuated his thigh between Sebastian’s legs, grinding to create delicious friction.  Sebastian moved his head to kiss Kurt, but the other boy pulled back.

“C’mon,” Kurt said, leading them out into the parking lot and hitting the auto-unlock button on his keys.

“My car?” Sebastian inquired dazedly.

“I’ll bet you mine’s bigger,” Kurt laughed, making his way over to a black Navigator and opening one of the back doors.

It was a remarkably big car for a teenager, much roomier than Sebastian’s sleek sports car.  Kurt ushered him in and then smacked him on the ass as he climbed across the seat.  Sebastian laughed and pulled Kurt down on top of him.  They kissed, then, for the first time, hard and dirty with tongues thrusting in mimicry of more intimate acts.  Sebastian’s cupped Kurt’s ass in both hands, rolling his hips up to meet Kurt’s, their hard cocks brushing against each other through their jeans.

“Do you have a condom?” Kurt panted.  “Want you to blow me.”

“Yeah,” Sebastian nodded against Kurt’s face, their noses brushing.  Sebastian reached into his pocket to grab the condom he’d brought, as Kurt’s hands went to unbutton his own jeans.  He eased them down to mid-thigh, revealing that he was naked underneath.  His hard cock jutted out and up, and he took the condom from Sebastian to roll it over his length.

Sebastian loved to give oral, although he was slightly less enthusiastic about sucking cock through latex.  He missed the taste and the feel, but condoms were non-negotiable with strangers, and if Kurt hadn’t brought it up then Sebastian would have.  Even without the skin to skin connection, Sebastian was immensely aroused by the power he felt when he watched a man fall apart above him.  He’d seen the most straight-laced, put-together men fall to pieces at the feeling of his lips and tongue, and he reveled in it.

Kurt certainly wasn’t what Sebastian would call straight-laced, but in his own way he was very controlled.  When Sebastian had flirted with him at the bar, Kurt had deftly steered the conversation where he wanted it, betraying almost no emotion, nor information about himself.  Icy would be a good way to describe him, both his demeanor and his pale, hard physicality.  He’d directed their sexual encounter, too, up to this point, and lust twisted low in Sebastian’s gut when he imagined the other boy losing that iron control under his ministrations.

Kurt knelt on the seat but rested back on his calves, thighs slightly apart, looking poised even in the awkward position.  Sebastian positively slithered to the ( _thankfully clean_ ) car floor, resting his elbows on the seat and raising his upper body, his head hovering over Kurt’s cock.

Sebastian lowered his mouth to Kurt’s cock, sucking gently on the tip.  He licked down the underside, slow and heavy, before taking Kurt’s length into his mouth as fully as he could.  Curling a hand around the base of Kurt’s cock, he proceeded to move in an uneven rhythm, using all of the technique that he’d acquired while fucking his way through most of the decent-looking gay boys in Paris.  He didn’t always go to so much trouble, not if he didn’t think he’d need to in order to get his partner off, but he felt the need to make use of every trick in his arsenal in order to impress the bored, blasé Kurt.

Kurt stroked the back of Sebastian’s neck encouragingly, approaching his climax at a slow but steady pace.  His calm mask finally cracked when he came, his face relaxing its tense lines, his long-lashed eyes fluttering briefly shut.  He looked gorgeous, but Sebastian felt unsatisfied with the reaction; he was used to boys being completely undone by him, but Kurt still seemed detached, even in his orgasm.  Kurt seemed satisfied enough, though, as he removed the condom and knotted it, tossing it in the trash bag draped between the front seats.

“What can I do for you, baby?” he drawled, his voice low and lazy compared to how it had sounded when they’d first spoken at the bar.  Sebastian began to notice the little ways in which Kurt had relaxed with his climax: the lowered voice, the eased tension in his face and shoulders.  It was a subtle change, but those small relaxations seemed particularly meaningful in contrast to Kurt’s prickly persona.

Sebastian hauled himself up onto the seat, painfully hard in his jeans, and arousal coiled in him at the thought of the beautiful boy in front of him helping to ease his desire.  Sebastian went to unbutton his jeans as he told Kurt, “please, just touch me.”

Kurt’s hand went to Sebastian’s cock as soon as Sebastian had eased his jeans and underwear partway down.  He reveled in the feeling of the other boy’s hand on him.  Kurt’s fingers were longer and slimmer than his own, callused in different places and gorgeously soft where the calluses weren’t.  Sebastian squirmed under his firm, sure grip, hips bucking unconsciously upwards as Kurt ran the side of his thumb over the head of his cock where it leaked pre-come.  Kurt stroked him and Sebastian thrust into his grip, letting out gasping little moans as he approached his orgasm.  He came with a satisfied groan, then pulled a few folded tissues from his pocket and used one to clean the remains of his release from himself before tucking his softened cock back into his jeans, and handing Kurt a second tissue to wipe his hands.

Kurt nodded in grateful acknowledgement of the tissue, cleaning his hands with it and then pitching it into the car’s trash bag.  Kurt was already pulling out his phone when Sebastian reached for the door handle.

“Thanks,” Sebastian offered as he opened the door.  “Guess I’ll see you around.”

“Probably,” Kurt replied, uninterested, as he typed something on his phone.

Sebastian walked back towards the bar, planning to use the restroom and wash up before heading home.  On his way in he passed Quinn, heading out the door and walking towards Kurt’s car.


	2. Chapter 2

In the days that followed, Sebastian found himself thinking more and more about Kurt.  By itself that wasn’t unusual, but what  _was_ weird was that it wasn’t just lingering on the images in his spank bank in the shower or before bed.  No, Sebastian found himself thinking how immensely  _frustrated_  he was with Kurt, unsatisfied with what was, technically, a perfectly satisfying encounter.

It was just that Kurt had a lot of nerve, to act so bored with Sebastian.  His skills were stellar, especially compared to what some kid in small-town Ohio had to have experienced.  Texting before Sebastian was even out of the car?  It was just so  _rude_.

Sebastian spent most of the week steaming over it, taking out his annoyance on the lacrosse field and through a tendency to be over-critical in Warblers rehearsals.  It wasn’t his fault if the guys couldn’t take some honest feedback.  Really, they were lucky that he was so knowledgeable.

He was still in a grumbling mood when Jeff and Nick dragged him out for coffee on Thursday afternoon.  They were both decent guys, and Sebastian could imagine calling them friends at some point in the future.  They were both gay, but they were the kind of “stay at home and snuggle” couple that meant he doubted that he’d ever be clubbing with them, nor was it worth it to try and make a conquest out of either.  Still, they were good enough potential friends to try and drag him out of his funk.

When Sebastian questioned why they had to drive all the way to Lima for a cup of coffee, he got a different answer from each boy.

Nick simply said, “the coffee’s better,” as if that was worth driving an hour and half.

Jeff was likely more honest when he shrugged and said, “it’s nice to see someone besides Dalton boys for a change.”

Sebastian had to admit that was true.  Boys in street clothes could be much more enticing than boys in uniforms.   _Everyone looks good in a blazer, but the pleated pants are ridiculous,_ he thought. _Plus, most Dalton boys have yet to learn the value of a good tailor.  Tragic._   They’d worn their own uniforms, feeling too lazy to change, but at least Sebastian looked as good in his as one could, given the clothes he had to work with.

Speaking of boys in street clothes, Sebastian spotted one worth looking at as soon as he, Nick, and Jeff entered the coffee shop.  Waiting in line at the counter flanked by a pair of girls, he could only see the boy from behind – but it was a hell of a view.  The boy’s ass was magnificent in his tight black pants, and his broad shoulders tapered to a slim waist under a well-fitted cotton blazer with artfully frayed seams.   _That’s how you wear a blazer_ , Sebastian thought.  The boy’s hair was styled nicely, too, as far as Sebastian could tell, though it was difficult to see from the back.

When the boy turned slightly to address the Asian girl on his left side, Sebastian caught a glimpse of his profile and swore softly.

“What’s up?” Nick inquired with a raised eyebrow.

“The guy I hooked up with at  _Scandals_  is here,” Sebastian answered, nodding in Kurt’s direction.

“Not good?” Jeff asked.

“No, it was fine.  He’s just kind of an asshole,” Sebastian answered.

Nick snorted incredulously, the clear implication being that Sebastian was one to talk.  The boys got in line, a few people long, as Kurt, the Asian girl, and the loudly-dressed black girl who had been on Kurt’s other side, made their way to the coffee bar to wait for their drinks.

Kurt didn’t seem to have noticed Sebastian, but Nick and Jeff took the opportunity to study Kurt with interest.

“So, that’s your type?” Jeff asked.  “No wonder you didn’t go for any of the Dalton boys.”

“I didn’t go for anyone at Dalton because they’re all candlelit dinners and long walks on the beach,” Sebastian said derisively, waving a hand in the direction of his companions.  “Case in point.”

“But he does have something, don’t you think?” Jeff addressed Nick, tilting his head to the side.

“I don’t get his look, really, but the raw material there looks like it’s awesome.  That skin?  That bone structure?”

“That ass,” Sebastian added helpfully.  Nick and Jeff both stifled laughs.

By the time the trio had made its way to the counter, Kurt and his friends were no longer in sight.  Sebastian wasn’t sure if they’d left with their drinks or just found somewhere out of the way to sit down, but he put it out of his mind as he contemplated his coffee order.

Once the boys had their orders they went to seat themselves.  While searching for an open table, Sebastian saw Kurt and his friends again, at a table nestled in the corner of the shop.  He snagged an empty table not far away, which happened to be a good vantage point from which to study Kurt, if one were interested in that sort of thing.

Apparently, Sebastian was interested.

“If you keep staring at him he’s definitely going to spot you,” Nick offered.

Sebastian blustered, with a faint blush, “It must be tough being  _that gay_  in Ohio.  I bet he doesn’t even notice the stares anymore.”

“We’re all gay in Ohio,” Jeff observed.

“Not so  _obviously_ ,” Sebastian replied with a forced sneer.  “Wicked case of gay face.”

Jeff elbowed him.  “You can be such a dick, Sebastian.”

“It’s a good thing we’re all into that, then,” Sebastian fired back.  Jeff rolled his eyes, but he and Nick both laughed.

“Do you wanna go talk to him, man?” Nick asked Sebastian.  “All that staring just screams ‘unresolved issues.’”

“Fuck off, Duval,” Sebastian retorted without venom.

“Whatever. Man up!” Jeff said, poking Sebastian in the side.  Nick caught on and poked Sebastian on the other side.

Sebastian rolled his eyes.  Jeff and Nick were being such  _girls_  about the whole thing – gossipy and looking to turn the whole thing into a romance.  Sebastian just wanted to get them off his back.  Still, there was something about Kurt that needled him.  He figured that by talking to Kurt, he’d be killing two birds with one stone: he’d shut up Nick and Jeff, and he’d clear up this Kurt-related mess in his head by means of a nice verbal takedown.   _Efficient_ , he figured, rising from his seat.

He affected an easy stride and a predatory grin as he approached Kurt’s table.  The three occupants had their heads bent in conversation, but the black girl spotted him and elbowed the other two.  Kurt squinted at him for a moment before appearing to place him.

“Sebastian, right?” Kurt asked, the two girls he was with giving them both inquiring looks.

“Yeah; hey, Kurt,” Sebastian said, hands in his pockets.  “I was just sitting with some friends, and I saw you, and I thought it would be rude not to say hi,” he added, gesturing at Nick and Jeff.

“Yeah, hi.  I’m here with my friends, too, so…,” Kurt trailed off.

“No Quinn today?” Sebastian inquired.

“The Lima Bean’s not really her scene,” Kurt offered.  “But I should get back to my girls.”

Sebastian shuffled awkwardly.   _There was supposed to be a verbal takedown!  This wasn’t going to plan at all,_ he thought.

“Kurt, aren’t you gonna introduce us to your friend?” the black girl asked with a sharp smile.

“More of an acquaintance, really,” Kurt shrugged.

Sebastian cut in, holding his hand out to the girl who’d spoken, “Sebastian Smythe, pleased to meet you, Miss…?”

“Mercedes Jones,” the girl replied.  “And this is Tina,” she added, indicating the Asian girl who hadn’t spoken since Sebastian approached.

“Charmed,” Sebastian nodded at Tina.

“Nice running into you, Sebastian,” Kurt said, with clear finality.

“You too, Kurt,” Sebastian said with his brightest smile.  He chanced a lingering touch to Kurt’s shoulder, and the other boy flinched, slight but noticeable. Disgruntled, Sebastian made his way back to his own table.

“That was stupid.  You’re both stupid,” he grumbled at Nick and Jeff.

They sipped their coffee drinks and discussed options for the Warblers setlist.  Sebastian pointedly avoided looking at Kurt, which meant that he was surprised to note Kurt and his two friends walking past his table on the way out.  None of them said anything, but Mercedes smiled as she brushed past, and when Sebastian looked down at the table there was a slip of paper sitting on it.  Written in feminine handwriting, he read “ _Kurt Hummel – 419-555-8620.”_


	3. Interlude - Mercedes

Mercedes didn’t think of herself as a meddler; she only intervened to the clear benefit of her friends, especially when those friends were being too stubborn to see the need.  She was sick of seeing Kurt flit from meaningless hookup to meaningless hookup, even though Quinn encouraged it.  That girl was in her bad books anyway; ever since the summer she had begun to distance herself from her glee friends and hang out with delinquents, dragging Kurt along with her.

She knew that Kurt was unhappy.  If nothing else, he screamed it with his fashion choices.  When she really thought about it, he hadn’t seemed too happy since his dad’s heart attack almost a year ago.  Burt was fine, now, and the bullying in school even seemed to have let up a bit this year.  One thing to be said for Quinn, even if Mercedes wasn’t happy with her, was that she and the skanks definitely had Kurt’s back, even if they did it in violent, rule-breaking ways.  Still, Mercedes thought that it was time for Kurt to get out of his funk and back to where he oughta be, in Glee with her.  And what cheers someone up better than a romance?

She hadn’t been sure about Sebastian at first.  When he mentioned Quinn, Mercedes was sure that he had met Kurt at some horrible party or bar, where the skanks would hang out.  Still, Kurt was a good guy, and he went to those things.  Maybe Sebastian was in a similar situation, and wasn’t sure where else to meet people.  When he’d politely introduced himself to Mercedes and Tina - after coming to say hello just so he wouldn’t be rude! - Mercedes decided that he seemed like just the sort of nice boy Kurt would be happy dating.  Plus, he and his prep school friends were so cute in their uniforms!

Giving Sebastian Kurt’s number was hardly meddling at all, really.  The boy was clearly interested in Kurt, and if he lived in the area, they’d be bound to run into him again sooner or later.   _Just speeding up the process_ , Mercedes thought, satisfied.


	4. Chapter 4

What the hell was Sebastian supposed to do with Kurt’s phone number?  He added it to his contact list on autopilot, figuring that if he  _did_ want it later, he’d inevitably have lost the slip of paper by then.  He didn’t mention it to Nick and Jeff; he’d grabbed the paper without them noticing, and he wasn’t looking forward to any more of their teasing on the subject of Kurt.

He managed to survive the 90-minute drive back to Dalton without Nick or Jeff giving him a hard time about Kurt, but the other boy was still on his mind.  Sebastian couldn’t believe how flustered he’d become trying to talk to him.  He liked to think that it hadn’t shown  _too_  much, but the conversation had not gone anything like how he had planned.  Maybe it was good that he had Kurt’s number just so he could get in touch with Kurt in order to verbally dismantle his superior attitude.   _Or possibly hook up with him again_ , Sebastian thought.

It wasn’t that Kurt had been  _so good_.  Sure, they’d both gotten off, but Sebastian hadn’t seen stars or God or anything.  It just bothered Sebastian because he felt like it ought to have gone  _better_.  Sebastian was fantastic, obviously, and yet Kurt had seemed almost bored by the whole thing until the moment of his climax.  And Sebastian had been physically satisfied, but something about the spark he’d felt when he’d first spotted Kurt across the room, the thrill he’d gotten from their bantering conversation, made him feel as if their encounter should have been better than  _fine_.  Like it could have - and should have - been spectacular.

Sebastian couldn’t think of anything that he hated more than not getting something that he’d worked for, or felt that he deserved.  And as a hot, rich guy, it didn’t happen a lot.  He was going to get this Kurt thing figured out.

* * *

The next step of Sebastian’s nebulous plan to “deal with the Kurt thing” was another trip to  _Scandals_ , this time with Nick and Jeff having invited themselves along.  They seemed set on becoming Sebastian’s friends whether he liked it or not.  They were going to drink, and they were going to dance, and if he saw Kurt Hummel again - perched at the bar like he thought that he was so far above everyone else - Sebastian and his friends were going to rub his nose in how much fun they could have.

They drove out to West Lima in Sebastian’s Porsche, Jeff scrambling over the folded-down passenger seat into the cramped back, Sebastian stopping Nick when he tried to do the same.

“Someone has to ride shotgun,” he asserted.  “Otherwise I feel like the damn chauffeur.  You two idiots can cuddle later.”

Nick snorted derisively, and said, “well, as long as we have your permission.”

“He’s just jealous of our love, baby,” Jeff said with a good-natured laugh, leaning forward to rub Nick’s shoulders reassuringly.

“Sure, that’s it,” Sebastian deadpanned, plugging his phone into the car’s sound system and setting off for West Lima with Prince blaring from his speakers.   _This is why I don’t hang out with couples_ , he thought.   _Not of my own free will, anyway._

The drive, though long as always, was surprisingly fun with Nick and Jeff in the car.  They sang along to Sebastian’s nostalgic pop and r&b playlist. The nice thing about making friends with members of your a cappella choir was that the singing was actually good, with some amusingly precise harmonies thrown in for good measure.

When they arrived at  _Scandals_ , the bouncer nodded at Sebastian in recognition.  He waved in Jeff and Nick after glancing briefly at their IDs, and the three boys made their way into the bar.  It was still relatively early, and  _Scandals_  wasn’t as full as it had been on Sebastian’s last visit.  Fortunately, he’d brought his own company, and even if he wasn’t going to get lucky with Nick and Jeff, he still anticipated having a good time.

Remembering his exciting foray into terrible microbrews, Sebastian ordered Blue Moons for himself and Jeff when he hit the bar.  Nick had agreed to be designated driver, and Sebastian suspected that it was at least partially because he wanted to drive the Porsche.   _Fair enough_ , Sebastian figured.   _It_ is _an awesome car._   

He drank, and danced with his friends, periodically scanning the crowd for new arrivals.  The three of them were indisputably the hottest guys in the bar, and they were approached several times.  After Nick and Jeff had made it clear that they were together, all of the hopefuls went directly for Sebastian, but no one held his interest past a dance and a free drink.  With enough free drinks in him, though, by midnight Sebastian was feeling pretty wasted.

“I guess Kurt’s not gonna come tonight,” Sebastian slurred drunkenly.

“You wanted to see him, huh?” Jeff inquired in a soothing voice.

“I dunno, man.  He’s such a fucker.  I jus’ wanted…  He’s so fucking pretty, you know?”

Jeff nodded violently, then shook his head to clear it.  “With his ass and all.  I saw, at the coffee shop.  His pants!”

Nick laughed at their drunken antics as they all continued to dance.

“Right?  His fucking pants.  And he just thinks he’s so good and fancy and everything but I think he goes to public school.  Public!  So he can’t really be so fancy, really,” asserted Sebastian.

“But you wanna get in those pants.  The tight ones!” Jeff laughed.

“I did!  Already, before,” Sebastian reminded Jeff.

“But like… again!” Jeff replied.

“It wasn’t even that good, though!”  Sebastian insisted.  “I don’t get it.”

“Clearly you’re kind of hung up on him, dude,” Nick put in.

“Nah, I don’t think tha’s it,” Sebastian argued.

“Whatever you say, man.  You and Jeff should get some water, put the brakes on the horrific hangover you’re working on,” Nick said.

“I love water!” Jeff enthused.  Nick laughed, and kissed him on the cheek.

“I know, baby.  Take Sebastian and go get some, okay?”

“Good plan, Nicky.  You’re so smart.  And sweet!” Jeff said, throwing his arms around Nick in a sloppy hug before grabbing Sebastian’s hand to drag him to the bar.

“Water’s stupid,” Sebastian grumbled.  “It doesn’t even make you drunker.  What’s the point of that?”

“Nick said it’s for drinking!” Jeff said, bouncing and waving his hands to get the bartender’s attention.  This was unnecessary, since the bartender was already right in front of them, but he was pretty used to dealing with silly drunks.

“What can I get you boys?” the bartender inquired.

“We need water!” Jeff smiled broadly.

The bartender mumbled something that sounded like it might be “yeah, I bet you do,” before filling a couple of glasses and setting them down in front of Jeff and Sebastian.  Jeff picked his up and slurped it eagerly, ignoring the straw in favor of drinking straight from the glass.

Sebastian, who had been sitting looking morose during Jeff’s exchange with the bartender, began sipping halfheartedly while fiddling with his phone.  Jeff finished his water, setting the glass down harder than necessary with a triumphant smile.  He headed back to where Nick was dancing and ground against his boyfriend.

Sebastian scrolled through his contact list, searching for the name he’d added earlier in the week.  He was going to tell this boy just what he thought of him, so he could get him out of his head and move the hell on.

> **To Kurt** : No scandals to muddy?
> 
> **From Kurt** : …the fuck?  Who is this?
> 
> **To Kurt** : I mean tonight
> 
> **To Kurt** : God bless augocdkkxt
> 
> **To Kurt** : Autocorrect
> 
> **To Kurt** : I think it’s lining
> 
> **To Kurt** : Learning
> 
> **From Kurt** : I suspect that you’re drunk.
> 
> **To Kurt** : You must be smart and also pretty
> 
> **To Kurt** : But you’re kinda mean though
> 
> **To Kurt** : Think you’re so much and fancy
> 
> **To Kurt** : But it’s all just fucking Ohio you know?
> 
> **From Kurt** : Who is this?
> 
> **To Kurt** : You’re kurt
> 
> **From Kurt** : Thank you, I know who I am.  Who are you?  How did you get this number?
> 
> **To Kurt** : Girl gave it to me her name is like a car
> 
> **To Kurt** : Not like my car
> 
> **To Kurt** : I have a porsche
> 
> **From Kurt** : Mercedes?
> 
> **To Kurt** : No a porsche
> 
> **From Kurt** : I meant the girl’s name.
> 
> **To Kurt** : Oh the girl?  That sounds right
> 
> **From Kurt** : Go sober up, whoever you are.  I have a friend to torture.
> 
> **To Kurt** : Have fun!!!


	5. Chapter 5

Sebastian woke up in his bed at his father’s house with a blinding headache.  Groaning, he pulled a pillow over his head to block out the sunlight streaming through the window.  He heard the muffled sound of a knock on the door.

“Fuck off!” he grumbled loudly.

Nick entered anyway, with a glass of water and a couple of aspirin.

“Nice way to greet a friend, Smythe,” Nick teased.

“I don’t have any friends.  Especially not if they wake me up.  What’re you doing at my house?”

“What do you remember from last night?” Nick inquired gently.

“Drinking.  Dancing,” replied Sebastian.

“Right, we went to  _Scandals_.  You and Jeff got drunk, and it was late, so I drove us here rather than school.  Jeff and I crashed in a guest room.  I brought you water and aspirin.  You are now officially caught up.”

“Argh,” Sebastian groaned inarticulately from under the pillow, holding out his hand.  Nick dropped the aspirin into Sebastian’s hand, then pulled the pillow from his head.

“You’ll have to sit up to take your medicine, Seb,” he urged.

Grumbling, Sebastian levered himself up on the bed, squinting narrowly at Nick as he took the glass of water from him and swallowed the aspirin the other boy had given him.  “Is Jeff up?” Sebastian asked.

“Yeah, I think he’s scrounging through your kitchen.  He’s significantly less hungover than you are,” Nick replied.

“He didn’t have as many people buying him drinks,” Sebastian responded smugly.

Nick made his way out of the bedroom, presumably to join his boyfriend in the kitchen.  Sebastian was just glad that his father was travelling this weekend.  He’d have had enough to explain, being clearly hungover, but having two strange boys in their kitchen probably would have been over the line.

Sebastian dragged himself to the ensuite bathroom, trusting that a nice warm shower would make him feel a little more human.  After showering, grooming, and dressing in relatively short order, Sebastian grabbed his phone from his nightstand, intending to check the time before putting it in his pocket and heading downstairs.

When he pressed the button to wake up his phone, however, Sebastian was met with several text messages, which he was surprised to see were from Kurt.  Thinking back to the previous night, he had a dim recollection of having drunkenly texted Kurt from  _Scandals_.  He scrolled through last night’s texts before reading the ones he’d received since, and was seriously unimpressed with drunk Sebastian’s game.   _How embarrassing_ , he thought.  Checking the new messages, he read:

> **From Kurt** : Mercedes tells me that she gave my number to Sebastian, so I’m going to assume that that’s who you are.
> 
> **From Kurt** : I may also maim Mercedes.  Probably not permanently, since she is supposedly my friend.
> 
> **From Kurt** : But please delete my number so you don’t get drunk and text me again.

Sebastian was annoyed, with himself and with Kurt.  With himself for his embarrassing text messages, and with Kurt for being such a jerk about it.   _They weren’t that bad_ , Sebastian reassured himself.   _They were kind of funny.  No need to tell me to delete his number!_   At the moment, he wasn’t feeling inclined to do as Kurt had requested.  He slipped his phone in his pocket and headed downstairs to join Nick and Jeff.  He hoped they’d been able to figure out the coffee machine.

* * *

Sebastian did not delete Kurt’s number, because Sebastian was a contrary bastard.  In fact, over the next few days, he texted Kurt regularly.

**Tuesday**

> **To Kurt** : Turns out I don’t know how to delete numbers from my contacts.
> 
> **To Kurt** : It’s a real tragedy, but I’m going to get through it, with your help.
> 
> **From Kurt** : Go away.
> 
> **To Kurt** : Nah.  What’re you up to?
> 
> **From Kurt** : School.  It’s 1:30 on a Tuesday.  Go to class.
> 
> **To Kurt** : I’m in class, but you’re more interesting than physics.
> 
> **From Kurt** : You’re more boring than cutting class under the bleachers.

**Wednesday**

> **To Kurt** : At least now I know where to find you if I ever feel like stopping by.
> 
> **From Kurt** : You don’t even know where I go to school.
> 
> **From Kurt** : Unless you do, because you’re a creepy stalker.  In which case I should probably tell you that I have a very scary woman named Sue Sylvester who feels very protective of me.  You should google her.

**Thursday**

> **To Kurt** : You know where I go to school.  You saw my blazer.  Reciprocation is only fair.
> 
> **To Kurt** : Also, if you didn’t want me to know where you go to school, you probably shouldn’t have texted me the name of a well-known high school cheerleading coach.
> 
> **From Kurt** : Whatever, you think you’re so clever.  She’s my aunt.  And you’ve already gotten as much reciprocation from me as you can ever hope to get.
> 
> **To Kurt** : You’re breaking my heart, darling.
> 
> **To Kurt** : Also, you should know that googling ‘Sue Sylvester’ ‘Kurt Hummel’ got me a Youtube video of you in a cheerleading uniform singing Celine Dion.
> 
> **From Kurt** : Fuck.
> 
> **To Kurt** : I’d like to.  Can you still get your leg that high?

**Friday**

> **To Kurt** : So, Kurt.
> 
> **To Kurt** : We should go out this weekend.
> 
> **From Kurt** : No.
> 
> **To Kurt** : Why not?
> 
> **From Kurt** : I don’t do repeats.
> 
> **To Kurt** : Well then it’s a good thing I said ‘go out’ and not ‘fuck.’  Although…
> 
> **From Kurt** : No.

* * *

On Saturday morning, Sebastian woke up to the sound of his ringtone blaring near his ear.   _Who the fuck is calling me this early on a weekend?_  he thought, reaching for the phone.

“‘Lo?” he grumbled.

“Sebastian!  Glad I caught you,” came an unforgivably peppy voice.  Familiar, too.  Squinting at the screen of his phone, he read:  _Caller - Kurt Hummel_.

“Hummel?  …The fuck?”

“Oh, did I wake you?  I’m so sorry.  It’s just, you were saying that you wanted to go out?” Kurt enthused.

“Mmhmm?” Sebastian replied sleepily.  Kurt’s bubbly enthusiasm was not the attitude that Sebastian had gotten used to, and it was seriously throwing him off.

“Well, I had some shopping to do today and I thought I’d see if you wanted to come along.”

Sebastian was now awake enough that he realized that this was a complete about-face on Kurt’s part.  Maybe Mercedes or Quinn had changed Kurt’s mind about Sebastian?  Not one to question a good thing, though, he shifted straight into seduction mode.

“Sounds good, darling.  You gonna model anything for me?”

Kurt honest-to-God  _giggled_.

“Maybe if you’re good,” Kurt said.  “Meet me at the Lima Mall at two?”

Sebastian had been told that you can hear a person’s smile through the phone, by their tone of voice, so he made sure to grin when he replied, “wouldn’t miss it.”


	6. Chapter 6

At quarter past two, Sebastian was sitting on a bench near the fountain in the Lima Mall, fiddling awkwardly with his phone.  Kurt was late, and he wondered how long was too long to wait before giving the whole thing up.  Just as he was considering giving up and grabbing a frozen yogurt or something, he caught sight of Kurt approaching.

As Sebastian raised his hand to wave, he noticed the girls accompanying Kurt.  He recognized Mercedes and Tina, but not the third girl, who was short and dark-haired.   _Didn’t Kurt have any male friends?_  he thought.   _Just as well, I suppose._

Sebastian had thought that the outing with Kurt would be just the two of them, and was disappointed to see that he’d brought friends.  He briefly considered whether Kurt had genuinely misunderstood Sebastian’s intentions, but it didn’t seem likely.  No, Sebastian was pretty sure that the other boy was fucking with him, planning the trip to the mall this way in order to shut down Sebastian’s pursuit and annoy him into giving up.

Well, Sebastian was determined that he wouldn’t make it so easy for Kurt.  Mercedes already liked him, and although he hadn’t really spoken with Tina, he thought he’d made a good impression when they met.  If he charmed Kurt’s friends enough, the could get them on his side, and they wouldn’t give Kurt a moment’s peace until Kurt agreed to go out with him properly.

Kurt approached Sebastian, greeting him with a subtle smirk.  “I’m so sorry we’re late!  Rachel needed tea,” he nodded to indicate the dark-haired girl whose name Sebastian hadn’t known.

“Well, then I’m glad she’s been supplied.  People should have their needs met,” Sebastian said, shooting a predatory smile at Kurt.  “Rachel?” he directed his attention to the girl, who nodded.  “Lovely to meet you.  I’m Sebastian,” he said.

“Rachel Berry,” she positively beamed.  The sound of her voice, laced with strident enthusiasm, gave Sebastian the beginnings of a headache, but he managed to maintain a pleasant expression.

“Wonderful to see you again, Mercedes, Tina,” he said, smiling at the other two.

“Yes, hello Sebastian!” Mercedes replied, with a not-so-subtle glance at Kurt that conveyed  _‘be nice.’_

“Hi,” Tina offered.

“Rachel needed a new outfit for her  _West Side Story_  audition,” Kurt remarked.  “And since it’s been awhile since I got the chance to spend time with her,” he smiled tightly, “I thought we could spend the afternoon helping her.”

“Oh, is it a school production?” Sebastian inquired.

Rachel nodded enthusiastically.  “I’ll be playing Maria, naturally.”

“Auditioning is not playing, Rachel,” Mercedes corrected sharply.

Directing the conversation away from that clear minefield, Sebastian turned to Kurt.  “Are you auditioning as well?”

Kurt snorted.  “Not my thing,” he said.

“We’ve been telling him he should!” Tina offered.

“Otherwise who will be my Tony?” Rachel pouted.  “Finn’s already said he’s too busy to try out.  I’m going to end up opposite Noah Puckerman!”

“Who’s going to end up opposite Puckerman?” Mercedes cut in.

“For what it’s worth,” Sebastian interrupted, “I think you’d make a fantastic Tony.”

“And don’t you miss performing, Kurt?” Rachel asked.  “We miss you so much in glee club!”

“Whatever do you do without my ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs?’” Kurt snarked.

“Are all of you girls in the glee club?” Sebastian asked.

“Yes!” Rachel smiled.  “The four of us plus our friend Artie were the original members.”

“Does your club compete?” Sebastian asked.  “I’m in the main soloist for my school’s club, the Warblers.”

“That’s Dalton Academy, right?” Tina asked.

When Sebastian nodded, Rachel cut in, “are you new, then?  We competed against the Warblers in Sectionals last year.  We won, of course.  I don’t remember you.”

“You’re right, Rachel, I just transferred to Dalton this year.  I’m sure I would have made it a more memorable competition for you,” Sebastian smiled.

“Maybe this year, then,” Mercedes offered.  “Don’t think we have the competition brackets yet.”

“We should get started shopping!” Rachel directed them.  “Kurt, you’ll help me channel Maria in a modern way, won’t you?”

“Your wish is my command,” Kurt sighed, his dejected tone unnoticed by Rachel.

As the girls led the way towards a store, Sebastian walked next to Kurt, drawing close to him and speaking in a low tone.

“If you wanted to amuse yourself by torturing me,” Sebastian offered, “you might have done better to pick something that would have annoyed  _you_ less.”

“I was inspired.  I just couldn’t think of anything more annoying than an afternoon with Rachel Berry, so I’m making that sacrifice in order to introduce you to the pain and torment that occur when you bother me after I tell you to fuck off,” Kurt replied softly.

“We’ll see,” Sebastian said.  “I’m sure I can hold out.  I  _adore_  spending time with these lovely ladies.”

“Hah,” Kurt laughed shortly.  “We’ll see how well you hold out once Rachel and Mercedes  _really_  get into it over Maria.”

* * *

The first store was a bust.  Apparently “modern Maria” meant sweet retro dresses, and Kurt hadn’t been satisfied with the options they’d seen.  The second store still didn’t have anything that met Kurt’s standards for Rachel, although Tina found purple tights and Mercedes bought a pair of earrings.  By store three, Sebastian was beginning to suspect that Kurt’s fashion standards for Rachel were designed to make both of them miserable, because she hated the things that Kurt had her try on, and he wasn’t satisfied with what he’d picked out once she was wearing it.

The two of them managed to agree on a pair of shoes in the fourth store, and then Tina was begging for a soft pretzel break.  The group of them made their way to the food court, where Tina made a beeline for the pretzel stand.  Rachel went to stand in line for a smoothie, and Mercedes headed over to one of the fast-food places, saying something about tater tots.

“What can I get you, darling?” Sebastian smiled ingratiatingly at Kurt.

Kurt laughed softly, in spite of himself.  “I can’t believe you haven’t run screaming for the hills,” he admitted.

“C’mon now, it’s not so bad.  Rachel’s got an entire pair of shoes now,” Sebastian chuckled.

“In recognition of your valiant efforts to put up with Rachel, I will allow you to buy me an iced tea and a cheese danish,” Kurt said.

Sebastian smiled, and followed Kurt to the food stall he pointed out.  He bought Kurt’s snack and something for himself.  The boys went to find a table, and Sebastian asked, “how much more of this shopping do you think you’ll be able to manage today without a meltdown?”

Kurt sniffed, “I am perfectly capable of controlling my emotions in pursuit of greater goals, such as making Rachel dress less like an overgrown toddler.”

“A noble aim, to be sure,” joked Sebastian.  “I actually meant a  _Rachel_ meltdown, though.”

“To be honest, I’m surprised that it hasn’t happened yet,” Kurt conceded.  “I’m thinking maybe we’ll just call it a day after this.  I know what size she is, and I’ll shop better without her.  I know a consignment shop where I can pick up some actual vintage.”

“You know, Kurt, you’re full of surprises.  I mean, I knew you had a lot of gal pals, but you don’t look like the type of guy with ‘personal shopper’ in his job description,” Sebastian ventured.

“And where did you think I’d gotten the McQueen I was wearing when we met?” Kurt arched an eyebrow.

“I don’t really know designers,” Sebastian admitted.

“No kidding,” Kurt deadpanned, looking over Sebastian’s outfit.  “Mercedes wants to spend more time together.  I guess Tina and Rachel miss me, too.  This is the kind of thing we used to do together all the time.  I thought it might be nice to make an effort.  And annoy you at the same time, of course.”

“And yet I seem to be the only one not ready to tear my hair out,” Sebastian laughed.

“I know!” exclaimed Kurt in mock frustration.  “My evil plan appears to have gone awry.”

“Next time you want to hang out with them, maybe you should try doing something you actually like.  What about that musical?”

Kurt’s face tensed, and his stance became defensive, his tone sarcastic.  “Yeah, because that’s just what my reputation needs.  The school queer: now with more musical theater.”

“But you didn’t always care about that?” Sebastian questioned gently.  “Not when you were in the glee club with your friends?”

‘Yeah, and that went  _so_  well.  Took the target on my back and painted it neon,” Kurt scoffed.

“You take a lot of shit at school?” Sebastian asked, laying a hand over Kurt’s.

Kurt withdrew his hand as if burned.  “Not anymore,” he said coldly.

Sebastian let out a deep breath and took a sip of his iced tea.  He’d enjoyed riling Kurt up, and impressing Kurt with his forbearance during this ridiculous shopping trip, but what he liked more than he’d ever expected was getting to know the other boy.  But to Sebastian’s frustration, as soon as Kurt relaxed the smallest bit, Sebastian would screw up and say something that put him right back on his guard.

“Listen, Kurt, I’m sorry,” Sebastian offered.  “I don’t - I haven’t had to put up with anything like that in a long time.  Dalton has really strict policies… I just didn’t know.”

“It’s fine,” Kurt shrugged, pulling his jacket tight, wrapping his arms around his midsection.

“It’s not  _fine_ ,” Sebastian stated firmly.  “But I get that it’s something you’re dealing with.  I’m sorry I gave you a hard time.”

Kurt’s shoulders dropped, and the conversation eased after the girls arrived with their snacks.  The tempers that had been fraying all around were shored up with food, but they agreed that it was time for the afternoon to end.

“Dinner with my dads tonight,” Rachel offered apologetically.

“No problem, Rach,” Kurt replied.  “I’ll get you all off home in a few minutes.  I’ll check the consignment shop for an audition dress, okay?”

“Thanks, Kurt, you’re the best!” Rachel smiled.

The group cleared their trays from the food court table and made their way together towards the parking lot.  Kurt and Sebastian fell back together to talk quietly.

“So, did I pass?” Sebastian teased.

“No,” Kurt rolled his eyes.  “You were supposed to give up!”

“Well, I didn’t,” Sebastian smirked triumphantly.  “So that means you owe me the chance to take  _you_ on a date.”

“I do not remember agreeing to those terms,” Kurt replied with an arched brow.

“So agree to them now,” Sebastian cajoled.  “Don’t I deserve the chance to scare you off with my annoying friends?”

“I doubt any of them could be more annoying than you,” Kurt retorted.

“Sounds like you’re gonna win, then,” Sebastian laughed.  “Put your Saturday afternoon where your mouth is!  Uh, metaphorically.”

“Saturday afternoon?” Kurt inquired.

“How do you feel about lacrosse, sweetheart?” Sebastian asked, throwing a friendly arm around Kurt’s shoulder and mentally congratulating himself when Kurt didn’t shy away.

“I have absolutely no idea,” Kurt answered.

“Then let’s find out!”


	7. Chapter 7

By the time Sebastian was getting suited up for his lacrosse game the next Saturday, he still wasn’t certain whether Kurt was planning to come.  They’d been texting during the week, but Kurt had been noncommittal.  Still, Sebastian had given Kurt the requisite details, and he hoped that the other boy would be in the stands.

After the quasi-disastrous mall date that he and Kurt had had the weekend before, Sebastian had thought that it was only fair to subject Kurt to a similarly annoying fiasco.  The caveat, however, was that he actually  _did_  want Kurt to be interested in him, which begged the question of how to plan something that seemed annoying (in order to maintain their snarky game) but was actually awesome (in order to woo Kurt).

What he’d decided on had been to invite Kurt to watch his lacrosse game.  It was sort of annoying for two reasons: one, it wasn’t much of a date, because they wouldn’t really be spending time together, and two, from the conversations Sebastian had held with Kurt, he didn’t seem like a big sports enthusiast.  What Sebastian was banking on to make up for that was: one, he’d asked Jeff to sit with Kurt during the game and amuse him with commentary while subtly talking Sebastian up, and two, he looked  _really_  good in his lacrosse uniform.  So, he suited up and went to warm up with the rest of the team.  He glanced towards the stands, but it was still early, and there weren’t many spectators there yet.  Sebastian concentrated on his warmups, because his plan was certain to backfire if he didn’t at least play well.

The game was poised to begin, and as Sebastian got into position for the face-off he spotted Jeff leading Kurt into the stands.  He stood out in the sea of prep-school boys in his artfully shredded jeans and fitted t-shirt, paired with dark sunglasses.  The sunlight played off of the blue streaks in his hair, and his sunglasses made it difficult to read his demeanor.  Sebastian could see, though, that Jeff was bouncing with enthusiasm, pointing out Nick at midfield.

Sebastian focused back in on the ball, and when the official’s whistle blew, he muscled his opponent out of the way to gain possession and flicked the ball to Nick.  The game continued, and in his position as an attacker, Sebastian’s play style was clever and agile.  He could shove past other players when necessary, but he preferred to surprise the opposing team by taking advantage of barely-noticeable holes in their defense to score goals.  He thought of it as similar to his ability to hone in on and exploit people’s weaknesses socially, and the look on a shocked defender’s face when he scored was his favorite aspect of the game.

At halftime, Dalton was up 4-1, and three of those goals had been Sebastian’s.  He should have been headed straight to the locker room, but he decided to brave the coach’s wrath to detour to where Jeff and Kurt sat in the crowd.  He pulled off his helmet and drew the back of his hand across his forehead, wiping perspiration on his jersey.

“How’re you liking the game so far?” he asked.  Kurt was wearing a look of carefully cultivated boredom, but Jeff shot him a smile.

“We’ve been getting into it,” Jeff grinned, nudging Kurt.  “You and Nick are both having a good game!”

Kurt was largely unreadable behind his sunglasses, but he shifted on the bleachers, rubbing his ankles together where they crossed, his hands poised on his thighs.  The glimpses of pale, creamy skin that Sebastian caught through the rips in his jeans were tantalizing, and he ran his tongue slowly over his upper lip slowly, almost unconsciously, tasting salt from the sweat beaded there.

Kurt’s head was inclined towards Sebastian, and Sebastian noticed the subtle bob of his adam’s apple as he raked his gaze up Sebastian’s body and swallowed tightly.   _Perfect_ , Sebastian thought, _the uniform is working just as planned_.

A shout from the field drew Sebastian’s attention away from Jeff and Kurt.

“Seb!” Nick called.  “Coach is gonna kill you if you’re not in the locker room in the next 30 seconds!”

“Sounds like I’ve gotta run,” Sebastian smiled.  “I’ll catch you boys after the game,” he called back over his shoulder as he jogged down to where Nick was standing.  With his final glance, he caught sight of Kurt gripping his own thighs tightly as his shrouded gaze appeared to follow Sebastian’s retreating form.

* * *

In the end, Dalton won 7-4.  It certainly hadn’t been the most challenging game that Sebastian had ever played, but he appreciated the opportunity to show off.  He elected to meet up with Kurt for a few minutes before heading back to shower, because based on their ( _admittedly limited_ ) interactions during halftime, the sweaty jock thing worked for Kurt.  Sebastian had kind of been counting on it; sports were a sort of throwback to primal masculinity, and he wasn’t surprised that the returning victor was a turn-on for anyone attracted to men.   _God knows I’ve had enough impure thoughts about the hotter guys on the team_ , he considered.

It look like Jeff had wandered off somewhere, probably hoping to catch up with Nick, and Kurt was sitting alone on the bleachers when Sebastian approached.  The sun was lower in the sky, and Kurt had taken off his sunglasses.  They were folded into the neck of his shirt, the weight of them tugging it slightly down to emphasize Kurt’s collarbone in a way that caught Sebastian’s eye.

“Did you enjoy the game?” Sebastian asked.

Kurt’s heated gaze met Sebastian’s.  “It was surprisingly compelling,” he answered in a low, rough voice.

Sebastian felt lust thrill inside him at the look in Kurt’s darkened eyes.  Their previous outing had been fun and companionable, but today’s interactions were reminding him of the the sparks that had flown at their first meeting, and of the instant, bone-deep attraction he’d felt when he first laid eyes on Kurt.  The desire to reach out and touch, to fold Kurt into his arms, to stroke the skin bared by his ripped jeans and trace the muscles of his chest under his fitted t-shirt, prickled at the tips of Sebastian’s fingers.  He had gotten into this for the long game, though, and he still had some trouble predicting Kurt’s reaction to casual touch, let alone anything more, outside the context of quick hookup.  Instead of reaching out, he kept his arms close at his sides as he sat down next to Kurt.  With a deliberate casualness, he crossed his legs toward Kurt, his foot barely brushing the other boy’s ankle as he settled himself.

“Have you ever watched lacrosse before?” Sebastian asked.

“No,” Kurt answered.  His ankle was bare above his low socks where Sebastian had lightly nudged the hem of Kurt’s jeans up with his own foot.  “I don’t follow sports.  I used to watch football or baseball with my dad sometimes.  Now he does that with my stepbrother, but Finn seems to like the games well enough.”

“You have a stepbrother?  How old?” Sebastian asked.

“Senior, same as me,” Kurt replied.

“I’m a junior,” Sebastian offered.  “No siblings, though.  Do you guys get along?”

“Better than some, not as well as others,” Kurt offered unhelpfully.  “We’ve only been steps for about a year, and we don’t have a lot in common.  I guess, he tries, but he’s still kind of a homophobe.  I mean, the kind that thinks he’s not, but still gets really self-conscious changing in front of me or whatever.”

“I hate that,” Sebastian sympathized.  “It’s like the homophobia equivalent of talking really loud and slow to people who look foreign.  Like, ‘really, I’m just trying to be sensitive.’”

Kurt let out a surprised chuckle.  “That’s a good way of putting it.”

“Speaking of changing in front of other boys,” Sebastian said with a quick laugh, “I should grab a shower in a minute.  If you want to hang out here for a few while I’m doing that, I can take you out for food after?”

“It’s like 3 o’clock in the afternoon,” Kurt objected.  “What meal is that?”

“I can kind of always eat,” Sebastian admitted.  “Especially after a game.  But if you wanted to do something else…?”

“Nah, I’m good,” Kurt waved off Sebastian’s suggestion.  “As long as you’re buying.”

“I bought you a pastry last weekend,” Sebastian objected.  “Shouldn’t it be your turn?”

“Not if you’re the one who keeps asking me out,” Kurt answered.

“I don’t think it counts as a date unless I get to kiss you,” Sebastian said with a raised eyebrow.

“It does for the purpose of you paying,” Kurt replied with a flirty smile.

Sebastian laughed, and brushed his knee against Kurt’s as he rose from the bench.

“See you in a few, then,” he said.  “I’ll buy you a milkshake,” he added teasingly.

* * *

When Sebastian emerged from the locker rooms, he found Kurt sitting on the bottom bleacher, leaning back into the row behind him.  His legs were crossed elegantly, and he was smoking a nearly-spent cigarette, which he stubbed out as Sebastian approached.

“About ready to head out, sweetheart?” Sebastian asked.

“Sure,” Kurt responded, rising gracefully from his seated position.  “Where are we headed?”

“I was only sort of kidding about the milkshake,” Sebastian said, “because I could really go for some greasy diner food.”

They headed out to the parking lot and hopped into Sebastian’s car, agreeing to return for Kurt’s Navigator after they had eaten.

“You really do drive a Porsche,” Kurt remarked.  “Nice.”

“You wouldn’t have struck me as a car guy, but I’ll admit that plenty of things about you surprise me,” Sebastian said.

“My dad owns a garage,” Kurt explained.  “I grew up around cars, and I definitely appreciate a machine with style and power,” he said, throwing Sebastian a rare, teasing smile.

At the diner, Sebastian ordered a burger, fries, and a shake, which he enjoyed as Kurt munched on a basket of french fries.

“I didn’t play a strenuous lacrosse game,” Kurt had demurred when Sebastian asked if he’d like anything else.

“So, what are we doing next weekend?” Sebastian smiled.

“Sure of yourself, aren’t you?” Kurt asked.

“I hear that confidence is an attractive quality in a man,” Sebastian joked.  “Which is good, because I don’t really do bashful.  But seriously, how’s Friday?”

“Actually, Fridays are kind of my family night,” Kurt explained.  “The night I met you at  _Scandals_  was basically a fluke; my dad had a Chamber of Commerce thing.  I can’t usually get away on Fridays.  What about Saturday?”

“Well, next Saturday is the homecoming game,” Sebastian explained.  “I’m going to be kind of tied up all day, with that and the other homecoming activities.  There’s even stuff on Sunday, actually.”

“As fun as this was, I think I’m kind of lacrossed out.  I guess it’ll be a couple of weeks before you get to harass me again in person, then,” Kurt said, sounding slightly disappointed in a way that made Sebastian smile.

“Well, there  _is_  one thing we could do, if you wanted,” Sebastian offered.

“Oh?” asked Kurt.

“When Dalton wins a big game like that, there’s always a party.  Usually just the team and their dates, but this year we were talking about opening it up a little more.  They can get pretty crazy, actually.”

“That sounds surprisingly tolerable.  So, if you win -” Kurt began.

“ _When_  we win, you’ll come with me to the victory party.  Hell, invite some of your friends if you want,” he said.  “We have a couple of guys on the team who I’m sure wouldn’t hesitate to show your lady friends a good time,” he added with a wink.

“God, Quinn will make mincemeat out of them.  I kind of can’t wait,” Kurt agreed.


	8. Chapter 8

Sebastian was still riding the high from his team’s victory when he texted Kurt the following Saturday.

> **To Kurt** : So, how many people are you bringing to our party?
> 
> **From Kurt** : That’s a roundabout victory announcement.
> 
> **To Kurt** : I already told you we were going to win, and we did.  Now I’m just talking logistics.
> 
> **From Kurt** : So, like 10 people, if that’s okay.
> 
> **From Kurt** : Although if it’s not, you’re the one who’s telling them.  They were annoyingly insistent.
> 
> **From Kurt** : I was just going to bring Quinn, but the other girls sort of invited themselves, and then a couple of their boyfriends invited themselves, and then it seemed like a dick move to leave out Artie.  So.
> 
> **To Kurt** : lol yeah that’s fine.  How many of the girls are single, though?  This is an important question that needs to be asked, according to to our goalie.
> 
> **From Kurt** : Quinn for sure.  I never know what’s going on with Santana and Britt.
> 
> **To Kurt** : I’ll pass that along.  See you at 9, gorgeous.
> 
> **From Kurt** : If I’m bringing all of my insane friends, I may need you to have a drink waiting for me on arrival.

Sebastian primped carefully for the party, although he wouldn’t have described it that way.  He was hoping that a relaxed social environment, combined with the probability of intoxication, would get Kurt unwound enough to break his “no repeats” rule.  He wriggled into his tightest jeans and pulled on a soft, thin sweater that clung to his muscular arms and chest.  If there was any chance of a hookup, this outfit could only amplify it.

The homecoming victory party was being held at his house, which was both fairly close to Westerville and conveniently unsupervised.  A lot of the team was already there, straggling in from wherever they’d gone to dinner, playing Xbox in the den until the party really got started.  Sebastian lightly spritzed cologne at his wrists and throat before heading to join them.

The weather was mild, typical of early fall in Ohio, and as more guests began to arrive Sebastian cracked the front door to encourage people to enter without knocking.  He fixed himself a drink in the kitchen, and was on his way back to the den when he spotted Kurt coming in the front door.

He didn’t appear to notice Sebastian right away.  Even as he entered the house, he was looking over his shoulder, addressing one of the boys in the group stumbling in behind him.  The other boy was even taller than Sebastian, and not graceful with it.  Kurt was admonishing him to “God, Finn, try not to break anything.”   _Ah, the stepbrother,_ Sebastian thought.

Besides Finn, and the girls that Sebastian had already met, the group consisted of two more girls, presumably Santana and Brittany - and if Kurt didn’t know what was going on with those two, he ought to trade in his gaydar for a working model - and a nerdily-dressed boy in a wheelchair, which was being hoisted up the front steps by a pair of attractive, athletic-looking boys, either of whom might have caught his eye were it not for Kurt.

Kurt had no trouble whatsoever remaining at the center of his attention, though.  He was wearing a leather jacket, but a different one than the one Sebastian remembered from that first night at  _Scandals_.  It was deep burgundy, tailored exquisitely close to Kurt’s body, and zipped to the throat, showing only the barest hint of pale neck below Kurt’s adam’s apple.  Kurt’s remarkable stormy eyes were lined, which might normally have been a little femme for Sebastian’s taste, but in combination with Kurt’s outfit and his attitude it was more Sex Pistols than My Chemical Romance.  His black jeans had an exposed button-fly, which Sebastian eyed with interest, his mind immediately drifting to fantasies of unbuttoning those jeans excruciatingly slowly to bare Kurt’s magnificent cock.  Sebastian swallowed heavily past the sudden lump in his throat.

“Kurt,” he said, the hint of an embarrassed squeak behind his voice.  He cleared his throat and coughed softly before beginning again, “I’m so glad you and your friends could make it.”  He approached the group and chanced a stroking touch to Kurt’s arm.  Surprisingly, Kurt leaned slightly into his touch, and Sebastian grinned.

“Thanks for having us,” Kurt offered.  “You know a lot of the girls already.  This is Santana and Brittany,” he indicated the two girls that Sebastian had figured must be them.  Pointing to his other friends in turn, he introduced “Artie, Mike, and Puck.  And this is - “

“His brother, Finn,” the tall, clumsy boy broke in.

“Stepbrother,” Kurt corrected, rolling his eyes.

“And I’m looking out for Kurt, so no funny business.”

Sebastian shot Finn a look of clear disbelief, which Kurt supplemented with an expression that matched closely but for the added disdain.

Quinn snorted a laugh, nudging Puck with her elbow and stage-whispering “too late.”

Santana raised an eyebrow, and said, “wanky.”

Kurt glanced around at his friends dismissively.  “Go. Party!” he shooed.  “Not you,” he added to Finn, with a cutting glance.  “Clearly we need to have a discussion.”

“Hey, man,” Finn raised his hands placatingly.  “I promised your dad I’d look out for you.”

“Well, I’ll remind you both that I am not actually a princess, and it’s a little too late to start treating me like one.  Now go look after your girlfriend,” he added, rolling his eyes.

Finn grumbled as he headed after the rest of the group into the kitchen.

“Interesting friends you’ve got,” Sebastian remarked.

“I honestly tried to ditch them,” Kurt replied, “but everyone was at my house and Santana caught me trying to sneak out.”

“By the way,” Sebastian remarked, “she and blonde are totally banging.  My goalie will be sorely disappointed.  Unless they let him watch, I guess.”

“They might,” Kurt shuddered.  “Eugh, let’s not think about girl parts.”

“Fair enough,” Sebastian offered.  “Let me get you a drink.”

Sebastian eased his arm around Kurt’s waist to guide him back towards the kitchen.  Kurt seemed tense, but in a different way than Sebastian had experienced before.  He didn’t brush off Sebastian’s touch, rather melting into him once his friends were out of sight.

The group from McKinley had moved on by the time Sebastian and Kurt found their way to the kitchen counter where drinks were set up.  Kurt glanced over the beverages on offer and then grabbed a cup and filled it with ice, pouring in a good two shots worth of whiskey before topping it off with diet coke.

“You seem tense, babe,” Sebastian ventured tentatively as Kurt threw back his whiskey and coke.  “Most people  _relax_  around their friends.”

“I’m on the fence about whether or not they really are,” Kurt bit back.  “They just sort of declare themselves my friends.  They’re very entitled; I told you how they invited themselves to this party.”

“See, you seem like the kind of guy who wouldn’t have a problem telling someone to fuck off,” Sebastian replied as he popped the cap off a bottle of beer.

Kurt set his now-empty cup back on the counter with a clatter.  He leaned back and squeezed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose.  “S’better than not having anyone care at all.”

Sebastian bit his lip, sensing that this wasn’t the moment for his usual brand of snark.  He laid his hand over Kurt’s where it braced him against the counter.  Sebastian had never thought of himself as a particularly empathetic person, and he considered that it was just as well that he wasn’t.  The world could be harsh, but Sebastian also had a lot of advantages.  When he made use of those advantages, he could easily raise himself up to a safe height from which to sneer at anyone who would prefer to look down on him just because he liked dick.

In this moment, though, looking at Kurt, he felt the tendrils of empathy slithering into his consciousness, and he hated it.  He hated that Kurt had never had the opportunity to go someplace like Dalton, where he could feel safe and make real friends.  He hated that Kurt resigned himself to these shallow, demanding friendships where he didn’t get anything back.  He hated that Kurt had felt like he was without recourse.  And he hated that it made him realize that he’d isolated himself in the same way, but  _on purpose_.  Because as much as Sebastian felt safe and superior, he felt it  _alone_.  It wasn’t until Nick and Jeff had decided to make themselves at home in his life that he had had real friends of his own.  His desire to protect himself might not look that much like Kurt’s Berlin Wall of a facade, but it was there, and it sucked.

“Do you even like them?” Sebastian inquired gently, with the insight his empathy had gained him.  “Your friends?”

Kurt opened his eyes and regarded Sebastian with a confused expression, as if he’d never really considered it.  “I - I don’t know,” he sputtered.  “I know I did, once.”

“What changed?” Sebastian asked.

Kurt’s eyes were locked on Sebastian’s as he paused, considering.  He took a breath to speak, but the moment broke when a kissing couple stumbled against the kitchen door, bumping it open, and a shout of laughter interrupted them from the next room.

Sebastian’s hand stayed soft yet firm on Kurt’s, drawing slow circles with the lacrosse-callused pad of his thumb.

“Do you wanna go talk somewhere quieter?” Sebastian asked.

Kurt nodded.

* * *

Sebastian had honestly meant “talk” when he’d said it.  But he felt so connected to Kurt, and the moment was getting too deep.  He had an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach that he couldn’t identify, and combined with his newfound empathy, Sebastian was overwhelmed with the feeling that he might cry.  He tamped it down hard.

He was buzzed from the beer he’d been drinking, combined with the few shots he’d done with the team before other guests started arriving.  He couldn’t remember how the hot, prickly desire he was feeling for Kurt had led them to heartfelt sharing, and he discarded the conversation as unimportant in his alcohol-fueled confusion and desire.  As he’d led Kurt upstairs to his bedroom and locked the door behind him, the emotions of the moment they’d shared in the kitchen had faded for him.  Looking at Kurt, touching him, he suspected that they’d faded for Kurt, too.  His hot gaze met Sebastian’s, and lust spiked in him as Kurt sat down on his bed, legs extended elegantly to the floor, and leaned back as he slowly unzipped his jacket.

Sebastian’s hands clenched at his sides as he tried to clear his head.  Under his leather jacket, Kurt was wearing a chambray work shirt that brought out the blue in his eyes.  Sebastian closed the distance between them and reached out to touch Kurt, his fingers brushing against the second button of Kurt’s shirt where it lay against the notch in his collarbone.  Kurt gasped, quiet but unmistakable, and brought a hand to Sebastian’s hip.  Sebastian leaned forward, insinuating a knee between Kurt’s thighs, and pressed his lips to Kurt’s.

Kurt’s eyes fluttered closed, and Sebastian studied the contrast of his dark eyelashes against his pale cheeks before his eyes fell closed, too.  His hand went to Kurt’s waist, holding firmly without grabbing, feeling the interplay of Kurt’s taut abdominal muscles moving as he breathed.  Kurt’s lips parted slowly, and Sebastian sucked softly on Kurt’s bottom lip before easing his tongue into Kurt’s mouth.  He felt Kurt sigh as the other boy brought his tongue to undulate against Sebastian’s in a languorous yet insistent rhythm.

The hand that Kurt had rested on Sebastian’s hip moved to the small of his back, tugging Sebastian closer.  To maintain his balance, Sebastian twined his arm up around Kurt’s neck, and they continued kissing pressed chest to chest.  Kurt lowered himself to lay on the bed, and Sebastian followed, half on top of Kurt with legs slotted together, his cock hardening against Kurt’s thigh, and Kurt’s against his.  Kurt gasped again and shifted, and Sebastian felt the other boy’s arousal growing against him as Kurt rubbed for friction.

Sebastian felt hot and dizzy, hardly able to draw the breath he needed to get oxygen to his brain.  He moved to nuzzle Kurt’s neck, tugging the collar of his shirt aside and pressing soft, dry kisses down to where neck met shoulder while Kurt continued to writhe against him.  He thought there was a reason that they should stop doing this, but he couldn’t call it to mind as his body overloaded on sensation.  Kurt bucked up insistently, his hands tight on Sebastian’s hips.  Groaning, Sebastian brought his lips back up to Kurt’s.  Kurt’s hand fisted in Sebastian’s sweater where it met his waistband, and the soft texture of the knit under Kurt’s firm touch created a deliciously sensual feeling against a sensitive spot on Sebastian’s hipbone that he hadn’t realized was there.  As he exchanged gasping kisses with Kurt, his eyes screwed shut, he tensed and ground down against Kurt, feeling the pressure of the other boy’s muscular thigh on his erection.  He gasped, cresting the high of sensation, and broke their kiss to drink in a deep breath as he came.  He rested his forehead against Kurt’s, and the other boy’s hands tightened briefly -  _just_  painfully - on his hips before he, too, came with a shudder.

Sebastian rolled to the side, and they both lay horizontally across the bed, spent and panting.  He tasted the whiskey that Kurt had been drinking on his own tongue.  Kurt’s breathing calmed, and Sebastian caught him glancing shyly at the space between them, where their hands brushed but didn’t intertwine.

Kurt levered himself up with characteristic grace, heading for the open door to the attached bathroom.  As Sebastian came down and his sense of utter physical satisfaction faded, he thought,  _that was a mistake_.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra special thanks to my beta [bononoh](http://bononoh.tumblr.com) on this chapter. I got stalled and wouldn’t have been able to finish it without her!

By the time Kurt emerged from the bathroom, Sebastian had changed out of his messy boxer briefs and was straightening his clothes.  He felt uncharacteristically embarrassed.  Usually after a hookup he was happy to make light of the situation with a flirty comment, but things felt different with Kurt.  He took a deep breath before looking up to meet Kurt’s eyes.  The other boy’s clear, vulnerable gaze was a striking contrast to Sebastian’s memory of their post- _Scandals_  tryst.  Kurt was looking to Sebastian for reassurance, but Sebastian didn’t feel like he had reassurance to give.

“Hey,” Kurt began thickly.  At Sebastian’s hesitation he raised his chin, and his posture struck Sebastian as almost sarcastically correct.  

Sebastian dropped his eyes from Kurt’s and ran a hand through his hair.  “Sorry, man,” he said.  “I should’ve respected your ‘no repeats’ thing.”

Kurt bit his lip and shook his head quickly.  “No, I don’t mind.  I mean, I was here, too, obviously.”

“I didn’t bring you up here for that,” Sebastian began.

“Oh,” said Kurt softly.

“I mean, we were gonna talk,” Sebastian said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Yeah,” said Kurt.

“I didn’t mean -” Sebastian began.

“I get it,” Kurt said shortly.  Turning on his heel, he strode purposefully out of the room.

Standing alone in his bedroom, Sebastian swore softly but emphatically.  “Fuck.”

* * *

Sebastian blotted out the rest of the party in a haze of alcohol.  Holing up in the den with some teammates as they got high and played Call of Duty, he managed to avoid Kurt and most of his friends.  One of the hot ones -  _Puck_ , he thought blearily - did spend a chunk of time smoking James’s good weed and getting his ass kicked at CoD, but he headed off in search of “babes” before a hazy Sebastian got around to asking him if smoking made him bi-curious.

He woke up the next morning on one of the den’s leather sofas, his face pressed into the cushioned back, one leg and arm dangling awkwardly off the side.  He ached, and his memory of the previous night was fuzzy, coming back gradually.  With a groan, he levered himself to a sitting position and glanced over the room around him.  It was disastrously messy, but that wasn’t much of a surprise.  Sebastian had already booked a cleaning service to come later in the afternoon.

Walking through the public rooms downstairs, Sebastian didn’t spot any lingering partygoers.  After climbing the stairs, however, he found that the bedrooms were full of people that he’d have to evict.  He ousted lingerers from the master bedroom and first guest room, and in his own bedroom he was displeased to find Kurt’s friends Santana and Brittany, appearing undressed under his top sheet.

“Attention lesbians!” he yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth.  “Get out of my bed and dress yourselves.  You’re grossing me out.”

Santana sat up, tugging the sheet to cover her chest.  “That is not the response we usually get from boys,” she grumbled.

“I’m actually bisexual,” said Brittany brightly, combing her fingers through her tangled hair.

“Don’t care,” Sebastian stated flatly.  “Out.”

In the next guestroom, he found Nick and Jeff curled sweetly around each other; he let them rest for a moment longer.  The sight of them gave Sebastian an unaccustomed pang of emotion, which made the rendezvous that he’d had with Kurt the night before trickle back into his alcohol-soaked brain.  The clearest images were the slow, deep kisses they’d shared, followed by the hurt look on Kurt’s face in the wake of Sebastian’s awkwardness.  Sebastian had gotten the magnetic connection he’d been working toward since their first impersonal hookup, but he’d managed to completely fuck it up by saying all of the wrong things afterward.

Sebastian sat down on the edge of the bed and covered his face with his hands, rubbing his aching temples.  As his headache began to lift, he thought more clearly about what he’d done the night before.  What had started five weeks ago as an attempt to ease Sebastian’s wounded ego had quickly turned into something more.  Sebastian  _cared_  about Kurt; rather than talk about those emotions, Sebastian stayed within his comfort zone and reacted physically.  That connection between them - that Sebastian was trying so hard to avoid discussing - led to a hookup that felt miles more satisfying than their first, though they hadn’t so much as disarranged their clothes. The depth of Sebastian’s feelings had taken him by surprise so he’d instinctively pushed Kurt away.  In the light of day, he regretted it.

Sebastian thought of his newfound friendship with Nick and Jeff with a sense of profound relief.  The two were like the poster boys for teenage romance, and he was sure that they’d be able to help him make things right with Kurt.  He bounced lightly on the bed, hoping to wake them, and they stirred.  Jeff raised his head, blinking, to regard Sebastian.

“Hey, Seb,” he offered, softly and sleepily.  Next to him, Nick buried his head under a pillow.

“Hey, Jeff,” Sebastian replied quietly.

“What’s up?” Jeff asked.  “I can’t imagine you looking this bashful if you were waking us up to ask us for a threesome,” he teased.

As Jeff had been aiming for, Sebastian laughed.  “Pfft, you wish,” he said.

“Seriously, Seb, what’s going on?” Jeff asked as he rubbed slow circles on Nick’s back, coaxing the other boy to wakefulness.

“So, here’s the thing,” Sebastian began. “I think I have feelings for Kurt.”

“Hallelujah!” came Nick’s muffled exclamation from underneath his pillow.

“Shut up,” grumbled Sebastian.

“I think what my boyfriend is trying to say,” Jeff began, “is  _duh_.”

“Okay, fine, everybody knew but me.  This isn’t helpful information,” Sebastian said.

“Well, what’s the problem?” Jeff asked.

“We hooked up last night -” Sebastian began.

“Awesome!” Jeff exclaimed.

Nick, still buried under pillows and bedclothes, extended his fist for a bump.  Shaking his head with amusement, Sebastian bumped it.

“- but I totally fucked it up,” he finished, resigned.

“All those feelings make you a little shy in the bedroom?” Jeff teased.

“Shut up, not like  _that_ ,” Sebastian replied.  “Everything was awesome until afterwards when I tried to talk.”

Nick emerged from under his pillow and began extricating himself from the nest of blankets.  He stretched and cracked his neck before responding to Sebastian.

“Ah, post-coital word vomit,” Nick said, nodding sagely.  “A common pitfall for those unaccustomed to sex with feelings.”

Sebastian felt like punching him.  “If you’re just gonna make fun of me…”

Jeff rubbed Sebastian’s knee comfortingly.  “He’s just a know-it-all in the mornings.”

“That is a weird quirk,” Sebastian grumbled.  “Good luck living with  _that_  for the rest of your life.”

“Ooh, you’re validating our long-term relationship!  Look how much you’re growing already,” Nick smiled.  Sebastian socked him with a pillow.

“We had been having this really deep conversation before the sex started, and what I was  _trying_  to say after,” Sebastian began, “was that I was sorry for possibly taking advantage of his vulnerability by making a move on him.”  He continued, “I’m pretty sure what he heard, though, was that I was sorry for hooking up with him.  Which, no.  Because  _oh my God_ , it was so good.”

“First, as your friend,” Jeff began with a mock-serious look, “congrats on the awesome sex.”  Sebastian’s shoulders shook with laughter.

“Second,” Nick broke in, “if you want to have a relationship with Kurt, you have to work on respecting his choices.”

“What do you mean?” Sebastian asked, sobering.

“Okay, so, disclaimer: I wasn’t there, so I don’t know exactly how everything went down,” Nick said.  “But I have a question for you, and I want you to really think before you answer it.  Did Kurt seem ashamed of hooking up with you?”

Sebastian considered it.  He flashed back on the look on Kurt’s face when he’d emerged from the bathroom.  It was vulnerable, unsure, but not upset.  Then he remembered how Kurt’s face had changed when Sebastian responded with awkwardness rather than reassurance.

Finally, he answered Nick.  “I don’t think so.”

“Okay, so,” Nick began, “assuming that you didn’t push him into doing anything he didn’t want to do, it sounds like your problem was that you tried to take responsibility for a decision that  _he_  made.  Acting like you shouldn’t have hooked up with him - not because you didn’t want to, but out of some protectiveness for him - was confusing for him, because he made the decision to hook up with you.  So, he can only assume that  _you_  didn’t want to, and that’s why you regret it. ”

“Sidebar,” interjected Jeff.  Nick gestured for him to go ahead.  “Were you guys drinking?”  Sebastian nodded.  “Okay, you need to be super careful about consent issues when one or both of you is drinking.  And I think you already know that.”

“I do,” Sebastian said, his shoulders slumping.  “I was really confused.”

“Wow, this  _is_ fucked up,” Nick remarked.

“Thanks, Nick,” Sebastian replied snippily.

“My point is,” Nick resumed, “you need to  _talk_  to him about this.  If you care about this guy, if you want to start a relationship, it’s important that you have open lines of communication with him.”

Sebastian buried his head in his hands.  “I hate feelings.  I hate talking.  Why is this happening to me?  I just wanted to get laid.”

“Well, you got laid,” Nick noted,  “but it looks like you’re still not happy.  So, what are you gonna do about it?”


	10. Chapter 10

Sebastian came away from his talk with Nick and Jeff determined to make things right with Kurt.  He knew that he needed to talk to the other boy, but he didn’t know how to start the conversation.  He thought it would be best to try to meet up with Kurt, and the idea of seeing him in person made Sebastian feel better about not having much of a plan for their conversation; his plans tended to go out the window when in Kurt’s presence anyway.

> **To Kurt** : Can you meet for coffee tonight at the Lima Bean?

Rather than staring at the screen waiting for Kurt’s response to his text, Sebastian made himself get in the shower.  He felt gross after falling asleep in his clothes the night before, and as tense as he was about the situation with Kurt, he hoped that the hot water might ease away some of the ache in his muscles.

He spent a luxuriously long time in the shower, but when he checked his phone upon emerging, he still didn’t have a reply to the text message he’d sent Kurt.  He wondered how much longer he should wait before texting again.  Or maybe calling?

Sebastian hated how he felt at that moment: unsure and twitchy with tension.  It was an unaccustomed feeling for him.  Most of the time, Sebastian could project so much confidence that he even convinced himself, but his usual facade was pointless in the face of the genuine emotion that Kurt provoked in him.

 _What’s the point of caring about someone if it makes you feel like this?_ Sebastian wondered, nausea churning in his stomach.  Then he remembered how he felt when he was with Kurt: the way Kurt’s rare smiles seemed to light up the room, and how Kurt’s sadness made Sebastian want to hit whoever had caused it.  He thought about how every time he learned something new about Kurt, he glowed with pride that such a private young man had let Sebastian see past his walls.  It didn’t matter that, at the moment, Sebastian’s feelings for Kurt were making him awkward and uncomfortable.  In the grand scheme of things, meeting Kurt - getting to know him, beginning to fall for him - had shown Sebastian a deeper, more vibrant life than he had ever thought possible.  It was as if he’d been experiencing the world from underwater, and in knowing Kurt he’d emerged into the sunlight.  Sebastian was willing to do anything to keep exploring that sunlit world.  He selected Kurt’s name from his contact list and waited as the phone dialed Kurt’s number.

“Hello?” came Kurt’s voice, sweet but a little rough, perhaps with sleep.

“Hi, Kurt,” Sebastian replied shyly.  “Did you get my text?”

“Yeah, but I don’t think I’m free tonight,” Kurt said.

“When will you be?” Sebastian persisted.  “I don’t want to have to wait until next weekend before we can talk.”

“I don’t see what there is to talk about,” Kurt said flatly.

Sebastian shifted nervously.  Just because he’d worked through his feelings for Kurt didn’t mean that Kurt would understand or accept those feelings right away.  Still, he persisted.

“Please, Kurt,” he said.  “I feel like I upset you last night, and I didn’t mean to.  I just want for us to talk about it.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Kurt said.  “I said no repeats, and it was my mistake to break that rule.  Nothing else to talk about.”

“Just see me for a few minutes, please.  I’ll meet you wherever you want, there’s just some stuff I really need to say to you, and I want to do it in person,” Sebastian pleaded, embarrassed at his neediness but unwilling to let Kurt brush him off so easily.

On the other end of the phone he heard Kurt sigh softly.  “Fine,” Kurt capitulated.  “The Lima Bean works, but I have stuff during the day.  I can give you maybe half an hour, around eight.”

“Good, yeah,” Sebastian replied, relieved.  “I’ll meet you there at eight.  Thank you.”

Kurt sighed again.  “Goodbye, Sebastian.”

“Bye, Kurt.”

* * *

Sebastian arrived at the Lima Bean early.  He’d left home early to account for nonexistent traffic, and then sped the whole way to Lima.  He hadn’t wanted to get a drink until Kurt arrived, so the barista at the counter shot frustrated looks to where he sat, fidgeting, at a small table near the front of the cafe.  It was quite empty, and even though official closing wasn’t until nine, the barista probably wanted to get started on closing tasks so she could cut out right at nine.

Peering through the large window that looked out on the parking lot, Sebastian spotted the arrival of Kurt’s Navigator at ten past eight, after he’d been waiting for nearly half an hour.  As soon as Kurt made his way through the door, Sebastian was on his feet.

“Hi,” he greeted Kurt as he approached.  “I haven’t gotten a drink yet.  Can I buy you something?”

“Sure,” Kurt answered wearily.  If Sebastian was bouncing with nervous energy, Kurt was the opposite, seeming tired and withdrawn.  He dropped into the chair opposite the one Sebastian had been sitting in when he arrived, rubbing his forehead with the heel of his hand.  “Grande nonfat mocha.”

Sebastian nodded, and offered Kurt a shy smile.  Even weary and dressed, Sebastian suspected, for a day working around the house, it was easy to see the boy who had captured his attention so fully on the night they’d met.  Kurt’s body was all graceful lines, his hair elegantly tousled, the rings in his eyebrow and along his ears gleaming in the artificial light.  In spite of how tired he might be, and his current attitude toward Sebastian, there was no denying that he was achingly beautiful.  

Sebastian ordered their drinks along with a couple of biscotti, and paid for them, not offering the barista any conversation beyond that which was necessary for the transaction.  She didn’t seem to mind, preparing the drinks quickly and efficiently before going to clean to espresso machine.  “Those are the last espresso drinks for tonight,” she said.  “Just cold drinks and pastries ‘til close.”

“Thanks,” Sebastian muttered.  He collected their drinks and biscotti and took them back to the table where Kurt was sitting.  He set Kurt’s mocha down in front of him and placed the napkin-wrapped biscotti in the middle of the table before sitting down.  Kurt looked up, raising an eyebrow at him inquiringly.

“So, I know I was an idiot,” Sebastian blurted.  “I just have all these  _feelings_ about you, and they apparently make me stupid.”

Kurt stared back incredulously.  He didn’t speak, leaving Sebastian to continue babbling nervously.

“So.  I like you,” Sebastian took a deep breath.  “And I thought I was being sensitive or something by giving you an out after we hooked up, but I talked to my friends and they told me it probably seemed like I regretted hooking up with you.  Which I didn’t.  So I really needed you to know that.”

“You… like me?” Kurt asked.  His expression was suddenly so vulnerable that he appeared noticeably younger.

Sebastian warmed, a soft smile slipping onto his face.  “Yeah,” he said.  “My friends said it was pretty obvious, but I didn’t realize right away.  I guess I kind of mess these things up.”

“Me too,” Kurt smiled bashfully.  “I thought… I don’t even know what I thought.”  He shook his head with a rueful smile, drumming his fingers lightly on the cafe table.

Sebastian brightened, his smile widening.  He slid his hand across the table to catch Kurt’s, and the other boy looked up.  “Kurt,” he began.

“Sebastian,” Kurt replied with a light, teasing tone, biting his lip.

It was Sebastian’s turn to be bashful again.  He stroked Kurt’s hand to center to himself, then paused, taking a deep breath before asking the question.  “Will you be my boyfriend?”

Looking up at Kurt, Sebastian’s breath caught in his throat.  The other boy’s sweet, open smile was different than any expression Sebastian had ever seen on him, and his eyes sparkled with it, the clear blue-green of a tranquil pond in sunshine.

“Yes,” Kurt said.

Sebastian glanced around the empty cafe.  The barista had stepped into the back, and for the moment they were truly alone.  He grinned slyly, then tugged Kurt slightly across the small table by their joined hands.  Raising his other hand to Kurt’s cheek, he kissed him.  Beginning with a soft press of lips, both boys increased the pressure of the kiss until Sebastian broke it with a smile.

As the barista emerged from the back room, Kurt began to giggle, unprompted.  Opposite him, Sebastian smiled, and when Kurt caught his eye he began to laugh, too.  Still chuckling, he gathered their empty cups and crumb-dusted napkin to toss into the trash.

“I should head back to Westerville,” Sebastian offered regretfully.  “Campus curfew’s at ten, and I’m cutting it a little close.”

“Yeah, my dad is expecting me back soon,” Kurt replied.

“C’mon,” Sebastian said, offering him a hand.  “I’ll walk you to your car.”

Kurt began laughing again.  “It’s like ten feet away, Sebastian.”

“Boyfriend privileges,” he said firmly, leading Kurt across the small parking lot.

When they reached the Navigator, Kurt glanced briefly around before pulling Sebastian into an embrace.  Sebastian hugged back, and breathed in Kurt’s scent.  He was surprised to note that the other boy didn’t smell of cigarettes at all, as if he hadn’t smoked since his last shower.  The faintly flowery smell of Kurt’s hair mingled with a spicy cologne, or possibly aftershave, underlied by fresh grassiness.  Sebastian committed the scent to memory, then gave Kurt a brief squeeze before pulling back and planting a light kiss on Kurt’s cheek.

“Will you call me tomorrow?” Kurt asked.

“If you’d like, darling, I’ll call you tonight,” Sebastian replied with a smile.

“That won’t work at all,” Kurt smiled.  “I’m going to have to call Mercedes as soon as I get home, and I doubt she’ll let me go before I fall asleep with the phone against my face.”

“Well, then,” Sebastian said.  “I guess I’ll call you tomorrow.”


	11. Chapter 11

Sebastian smiled all the way to Dalton.  He rushed through the door just as the monitor was conducting ten o’clock hall check, and was still out of breath when his name was called, gasping out, “present!”

A few of his hallmates eyed him curiously, but for the most part he didn’t care.  He locked eyes with Nick, and while he was pretty new to having close friends, he hoped that he was getting the hang of the nonverbal communication thing.  It would be awkward if what he intended as “big news, bro” was coming across as, like, “wanna bang?” or something.

Since Nick grabbed Jeff and walked over, rather than fleeing the scene, Sebastian was pretty sure that he’d basically made his point.

“What’s up?” Jeff asked, bouncing on his toes at the sight Sebastian’s broad smile.

Sebastian ducked his head, raising a hand to his mouth and smiling into his fist in an attempt to moderate his excitement before replying.  “We’re dating!” he said.

“Congrats!” Jeff said, holding out a fist for Sebastian to bump.  Sebastian bumped it.

“Welcome to the joys of monogamy,” offered Nick with mock seriousness.

“Sure, give me a hard time,” Sebastian shrugged, “but Kurt and I aren’t gonna be boring like you two; we’re gonna be awesome.”

“Oh my God, you are such a dork!” Jeff exclaimed, delighted.  “You’ve been hiding it admirably, but you are actually a total dork.”

“Shh, Jeff, don’t tell!  Seb has a rep around here,” Nick admonished, before dissolving into laughter.

“Shut up.  You guys are stupid, and I’m awesome.  And Kurt’s really awesome.”

“Sebby’s in love!” Jeff crowed.

* * *

On Monday after lacrosse practice, Sebastian kicked his roommate out and settled in to call Kurt, as promised.  The phone only rang once before Kurt answered breathlessly.

“Hello.”

“Hey, baby,” Sebastian said, then shook his head.  That sounded so stupid, he chastised himself.

“Is that a thing now?” Kurt giggled.  “Pet names?  Because I’m not sure how I feel about ‘baby.’”

Be cool, Sebastian, he reminded himself.  “Let me know what you prefer,” Sebastian countered, “and I’ll think about it.”

Sebastian felt accomplished when he heard the soft smile in Kurt’s tone as he answered, “Well, even ‘babe’ is better than ‘baby.’ You’ve used ‘darling’ and ‘sweetheart’ before, though, and I kind of like those.”

“And I kind of like you, sweetheart,” Sebastian replied, “so I expect that I can make those work.  Do I get any pet names?”

“Maybe if you’re good,” Kurt teased.

“Hmm, being good.  Is that a deal breaker for you?” Sebastian asked.  “‘Cause if so I may never get a pet name.”

“If it was a deal breaker for me, I’d never have agreed to go out with you in the first place,” Kurt laughed.

“I still kinda can’t believe that you did,” Sebastian said, bashful again.

Kurt was quiet on the other end of the line, and Sebastian had a brief moment of panic before Kurt spoke again, softly.  “That’s only fair, then, since I still can’t believe you actually like me.”

“So much,” Sebastian reassured.  “When will I get to see you again?”

“My dad has me helping out at the shop more lately, so Westerville’s probably a bit of a drive during the week,” Kurt said.

“We could try to meet up in the middle,” Sebastian suggested.  “What’s in the middle?”

“Considering that we’re kind of in the middle of nowhere to begin with, it’s like… the middle of the middle of nowhere.  Nowhere-ception.”

Sebastian laughed as he pulled up a map on his laptop.  “Bellefontaine?” he offered.

“Like I said,” Kurt laughed.

“I don’t have lacrosse practice on Wednesday, and Warblers rehearsal is done by 4:30.  Could you make it to Bellefontaine on Wednesday, late afternoon?” Sebastian asked.

“Probably,” Kurt mused.  “I’ve been working at the shop on Wednesdays, but since the boss is my dad, he probably won’t mind me moving that around.”

“Awesome,” enthused Sebastian, scrolling through the search results on his laptop.  “It looks like Bellefontaine has two coffee shops.  Wanna try the one that’s not Tim Hortons?”

“What, and miss out on Timbits?” Kurt teased.  “Sure, why not.”

“Cool, I’ll text you the address.  5:30 on Wednesday, then?”

“Yep,” Kurt replied, popping the ‘p.’  “I kind of can’t wait to see you again.”

“Only ‘kind of?’” Sebastian laughed.  “I must be losing my touch.”

Kurt giggled, “Bye, Bas.”    

“Bye, Kurt.”

* * *

Wednesday after Warbler practice found Sebastian angrily tearing through his wardrobe.

“Why do all of my clothes suck?” he wondered aloud, drawing the attention of his roommate Cameron.

“‘Cause you go to school with a bunch of dudes and no one cares?” Cameron offered.

“My clothes suck and my roommate sucks,” grumbled Sebastian.  “Make yourself useful and get me Jeff!”

Cameron snorted.  “Yes, your highness,” he replied flippantly, but he did pull out his phone and send a text, presumably to Jeff, whose room was just a few doors down the hall.  He was at Sebastian’s door in less than a minute.

“What’s the emergency, Seb?” Jeff inquired.

“I have to leave to meet Kurt in ten minutes and I’m still wearing my stupid uniform!” Sebastian growled.

“Calm down, we can fix this,” Jeff soothed, heading straight for Sebastian’s wardrobe.  He flipped past the hangers that held uniform pieces, found that there wasn’t much else hanging up, then bent to rifle through the drawers, which held more casual clothes.  With a small sound of triumph, he extracted a pair of dark, slim jeans, which he handed to Sebastian.

Sebastian had never been particularly modest, and time spent at boarding schools and on sports teams had made him even less so, so he stripped out of his uniform pants on the spot to change into his jeans, while Jeff continued to paw through his clothes.

Sucking in a gut that barely existed to begin with, he complained, “you had to pick my tightest pants?”

“Duh,” Jeff replied, matter-of-factly.  “They make your ass look fantastic.”

“You been checking me out, Sterling?” Sebastian teased.

“I don’t even have to,” Jeff shot back, “that’s how attention-getting those jeans are.”

Jeff emerged from the wardrobe empty-handed, and Sebastian wrinkled his nose.

“No, trust me,” Jeff reassured.  “Lose the blazer and the tie, untuck your shirt, and unbutton the top two - no, three - buttons.”

Sebastian made the suggested adjustments to his outfit, then hurried to the mirror to glance over his look.  He nodded with satisfaction, taking a deep breath before smiling at Jeff and Cameron.

Jeff nodded.  “Effortlessly sexy,” he pronounced.

“You’d think that ‘effortlessly sexy’ would involve less actual effort,” Sebastian complained.

“Without the effort it’s just ‘effortlessly sloppy,’” Jeff countered.  “Now, weren’t you supposed to leave two minutes ago?”

“Crap!” Sebastian exclaimed.  “Gotta go.  Thanks, Jeff!” he added, grabbing his wallet, phone, and keys and hurrying out the door.

* * *

Sebastian pulled up to the coffee shop right on time, although he’d sped a bit along the drive.  The storefront was dominated by large windows, and he could see Kurt at one of the tables inside, biting his lip as he fiddled with his phone.  The sight of Kurt chewing on his lip sent a spike of heat through Sebastian.  He’d been so overwhelmed with nervous butterflies that he’d almost forgotten how incredibly affected he was by Kurt’s sexiness.  Sebastian didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of the sure, cool Kurt, but it wasn’t just that.  He also wanted to strip Kurt’s clothes off and explore every inch of his gorgeous body.  Welcome back, hormones, Sebastian thought crossly.  Like I wasn’t already flustered enough.

He took a deep breath, trying to center himself before heading into the cafe.  His entrance set a bell above the door jingling, and Kurt looked up at the noise, smiling when his eyes fell on Sebastian.

A smile crept onto Sebastian’s face and grew, until it was undeniably a grin.  “Hey,” he greeted Kurt.  “Can I get you something?” he asked, gesturing to the counter.

“I think I’ll get you something this time,” Kurt answered with a wry smirk.  “After all, you paid on our last date.”

“Did that count?” wondered Sebastian.  “I mean, I went into it pretty sure you were going to completely shut me down.”

“Well, I didn’t, so it does,” Kurt replied definitively.

“And now that we’re dating, you’ll pay sometimes?  This is an even better deal than I thought,” teased Sebastian.

“Be careful with that sass, mister, or I’ll take back my generous offer,” Kurt said.

“I don’t know, Kurt,” Sebastian mused.  “I’m not sure foregoing sass is worth it.  Maybe I’ll just have to keep paying for everything.”

“Well, let me know what you decide,” Kurt teased, “so I know whether to pick more expensive dates in the future.”

The boys approached the counter, and Sebastian was careful not to touch Kurt; this was Ohio, after all.  Even though he knew that they would have to avoid being affectionate in public, he was mesmerized thinking of the comparatively free reign that he had to touch Kurt when they were alone, now that they were dating.  And that was a train of thought he ought to avoid until he had the leisure to indulge it, he thought, tamping down on his arousal.

“I’ll have a tall nonfat mocha,” Kurt told the barista, who was eyeing his dyed hair and pierced visage dubiously.  His polite smile, though, seemed to shift her attitude quickly.  “And a piece of that amazing-looking cheesecake,” he added.

“Coming right up,” she replied, then turned her attention to Sebastian.  “And for you?”

“A tall drip, please.  Dark roast.  And maybe one of those fruit tarts?”

“Will those be together, or separate?” she asked as she moved to ring up the order.

“Together, thanks,” Kurt replied.  Sebastian felt a fluttering in his chest when Kurt said it, and when he looked up he found the other boy regarding him with a shy smile.

Kurt paid for their drinks and snacks, and Sebastian went to lay their pastries on the table as the barista made their drinks.  When she was done, Kurt grabbed the beverages from the bar and joined Sebastian at the table.

“This is nice,” Sebastian smiled.  “It’s less stressful spending time with you now that the fact that I like you is out in the open.”

“Well, now I’m concerned,” Kurt mused.  “I was sure that stressing you out was part of my allure.”

“Pretty much everything about you is part of your allure,” Sebastian winked, after giving Kurt a leisurely once-over.

Kurt licked the cheesecake from his fork teasingly, his tongue piercing catching the light, and Sebastian’s traitorous stomach lurched with want.  That’s not fair, he thought.  He’s doing that on purpose!  Sebastian saw Kurt stifle a laugh as he swallowed, hard, his eyes on Kurt’s mouth.

“So I’m thinking of wrapping the rest of this tart up for later,” Sebastian offered, locking his lust-darkened eyes with Kurt’s.

“Oh?” Kurt inquired, widening his eyes in feigned innocence.

“I mean, I know it will be a bit of a drive for you back to Lima,” Sebastian mused.  “Maybe we should get going.  And I should probably walk you to your car.”

“Probably,” Kurt nodded.  The crumbs of his cheesecake lay scattered on the paper plate in front of him, and he carried the plate to the trash, grabbing a to-go lid for his cup as he went.  Sebastian, who had finished his drink but not his pastry, slipped the remains of the tart back into the paper bag it had come in.  Kurt waited for him at the door as he threw away his empty cup.

Kurt threw a cheerful wave to the barista before following Sebastian out the door.  Sebastian scanned the street purposefully until he zeroed in on Kurt’s Navigator.  He glanced over his shoulder to make sure that Kurt was following him, then strode to the car as Kurt trailed behind, hitting the auto-unlock button on his keys.

Looking around, Sebastian saw that the street, though sparsely-peopled, was not actually empty, and he jiggled his foot impatiently as he waited for Kurt to approach, his hand resting on the handle of one of the Navigator’s back doors.

Kurt eyed him with amusement.  “Why, Mr. Smythe,” he teased, “How am I meant to drive home from the back seat of my car?”

The noise that Sebastian made in response approached a growl.  He opened the car door and scooted in, grabbing Kurt’s hand to drag the other boy in behind him as soon as the open door blocked them both from view.  Kurt pulled the door closed behind them, and Sebastian took a moment to revel in the feeling of Kurt’s skin where their hands touched, and to be grateful for the Navigator’s tinted windows.

Kurt jammed his unfinished drink in the nearest cupholder before surging toward him, showing Sebastian that he hadn’t been the only one aching to reach out and touch during their date.  Kurt’s lips captured his, and they kissed hungrily, Kurt’s tongue tracing the seam of Sebastian’s mouth.  He parted his lips and the other boy eagerly licked into his mouth, while Sebastian worked his hand up into the tight space under Kurt’s white v-neck t-shirt and fitted leather vest.  He tasted cigarettes as he ran his thumb over the tight muscles of Kurt’s abdomen before moving to rest his hand on the boy’s waist.  Kurt continued to kiss him as he deftly unbuttoned Sebastian’s shirt.

Kurt pulled back for a moment, fingering the neckline of Sebastian’s sleeveless undershirt, then moving to press kisses to his chest above it.  “Tease,” Kurt muttered.  “I wanted to see how far down those freckles went.”

Sebastian gasped, running a hand through Kurt’s hair, fingering the strands that were streaked with blue.  Kurt moved back up to meet Sebastian’s lips, but Sebastian allowed only a brief kiss before moving his hands to Kurt’s hips and his mouth to Kurt’s throat.  He nibbled at the tempting hollow there, then sucked lightly, experimenting with the pressure it took to leave a mark on Kurt’s flawless, milky skin.

Kurt gave a breathy moan, rolling his hips down to meet Sebastian’s.  Sebastian’s nerves hummed at the sensation of Kurt’s callused fingertips trailing up and down his chest, and he let his mouth return to Kurt’s as he moved one hand to cup the other boy’s ass.

Their kisses were deep and dirty, but not rushed, and Sebastian felt a lazy satisfaction in them.  He pulled back, panting, and looked to Kurt with a smile.  “When can I see you next?  This weekend?”

Kurt fidgeted, straightening his clothes.  “Um, about this weekend,” he said, then hesitated.

“Yeah?” Sebastian prompted.

“Uh, my dad wants to meet you,” Kurt said.


	12. Interlude - Burt & Finn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This interlude is set during chapter 11, between Kurt and Sebastian’s phone call and their date.

“Hey, Finn,” Burt called from the living room, “could you come in here a minute?”

“Sure, Burt,” Finn replied.  It was late in the evening, and Kurt and Carole had each retreated to their bedrooms, but Finn had been in the kitchen grabbing a late-night snack.

“I had a chat with Kurt today,” Burt began, as Finn made his way in from the kitchen, juggling a box of cereal, a jug of milk, and a bowl and spoon.

Finn sat down near Burt.  “Mhmm?” he mused interrogatively, pouring himself a bowl of cereal.

“Do you know his friend Sebastian?”

Finn took a moment, swallowing a mouthful of cereal before replying, “Yeah, I met him.”

“Kurt wants to change his hours at the shop so he can go meet up with him.  What kind of kid is he?”

“I dunno,” Finn replied, his brow wrinkled in thought.

“Thought you said you’d met him,” Burt countered.

He hadn’t always been so strict about who Kurt spent time with, figuring that Kurt was a pretty good judge of character.  But since Kurt started hanging around with Quinn, piercing his face, smoking cigarettes, and getting that tattoo that he didn’t think Burt knew about, Burt had become more cautious.  It seemed like just because Kurt knew what was right didn’t mean that he’d always make the right choices.   _This must be that rebellious teenage period that the other parents warn you about_ , Burt thought.

“Yeah, but just for a few minutes,” Finn answered.  “ You know that party we all went to last weekend?  That was for Sebastian’s school’s homecoming or something.  I think he’s on the lacrosse team.”

“He doesn’t go to school with you guys?” Burt inquired.

“Nah, he goes to some private school out near Columbus,” Finn replied.

“Then how did Kurt meet him?” Burt mused.

“Dunno,” shrugged Finn.  “I think Rachel hung out with them one time, maybe she knows.  You want me to ask her?”

“Nah,” Burt replied,  “but this Sebastian kid, is Kurt interested in him?”  Seeing Finn’s nose wrinkle in confusion, Burt clarified, “Are they going out?  I mean, is he gay, or…?”

“Oh, um -” Finn shifted uncomfortably before continuing,  “well, Quinn made it seem like they had sex, but,” he hedged quickly, “I mean, who knows if that’s true.  Quinn’s probably just making trouble.”  Finn looked profoundly uncomfortable at what he’d just admitted.   _Probably thinks he broke the ‘bro code’ or something, ratting on Kurt_ , Burt figured.

Burt’s hand tightened briefly on the armrest of his chair, and his eyes narrowed suspiciously.  “Well, if Kurt’s gonna be rearranging his work at the shop to spend time with this kid, I’m gonna have to meet him,” he declared.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Previously, on Fallen Angel in a Gay Bar:
> 
> Kurt fidgeted, straightening his clothes. “Um, about this weekend,” he said, then hesitated.
> 
> “Yeah?” Sebastian prompted.
> 
> “Uh, my dad wants to meet you,” Kurt said.

“Why?” Sebastian blurted out.

“What do you mean, why?” Kurt asked.  “You’re my boyfriend, of course my dad wants to meet you.”

“You told your dad about me?” Sebastian asked, strangely touched.

“Well, no, not exactly,” Kurt answered, and Sebastian’s couldn’t school his expression quickly enough to hide the instinctive pout that formed.

“Don’t be sad, Bas,” Kurt soothed, raising a hand to stroke Sebastian’s cheek.  “I’ve just gotten into the habit of not sharing a lot of my life with my dad.  He had a heart attack last year, and I don’t like to worry him with everything I do.”

Sebastian’s shoulders tensed.  “So I’m not important to you?”

“No, you are!” Kurt protested.  “Of course you are, I’m just not used to telling him things.  I’m sorry.”

“So if you didn’t tell him about me, how did he find out?” Sebastian pressed.

“When I rearranged my hours at the shop, I told him I was meeting up with ‘my friend Sebastian,’ and I guess he asked Finn about you.”

“I met Finn for like five seconds.  What could he have said about me?” Sebastian asked.

“Well,” Kurt fidgeted, “I guess Finn picked up on Quinn’s implication that we’d had sex.  I’m surprised he was paying attention, to be honest.  So my dad gave me this incredibly embarrassing talk - I mean, there were pamphlets! - and demanded that I invite my ‘new boyfriend’ to dinner.”

Even though he had gotten to know many sides of Kurt - including the sweet, dorky side that he kept hidden from most people - Sebastian’s overall picture of Kurt was still profoundly shaped by the impression he’d had on their first meeting at _Scandals_ : controlled, disdainful, and utterly experienced.  The idea of _that_ boy blushing over “the talk” with his dad had Sebastian choking on his laughter.  Kurt shot him a look communicating that he was much less amused.

“Sure, you can laugh now,” Kurt said, tightening his lips, “but it’s gonna be a lot less funny when my dad’s threatening you with the shotgun.”

Sebastian’s eyebrows shot up.  “Does your dad actually have a shotgun?”

“Yep,” Kurt answered.

“That he uses to threaten boyfriends?” Sebastian inquired with an embarrassing squeak in his voice.

“That was just supposition,” Kurt allowed.  “I usually don’t bring the boys I fuck home to meet my dad.”

“Jesus,” Sebastian said, massaging his temples.

“So anyway,” Kurt concluded, “I hope you have Friday night free, because you’re coming to dinner.”

* * *

On Friday, Sebastian was grateful for the two hours between the end of his school day and the time he’d have to leave Westerville in order to get to Lima by seven.  The impression he’d make that night would be even more important than the one he’d made on his first official date with Kurt that Wednesday, and he was glad that he had the opportunity to avoid a similar wardrobe-related meltdown.  He’d had the foresight to commandeer Jeff in advance, this time with bonus Nick.

He’d brought Nick and Jeff back to his room after their last class, and gestured at his wardrobe hopelessly before sitting down on the bed, resting his head in his hands.

“Okay, so, tell us more about this dinner,” Nick urged.

“Well, I guess Kurt’s family is pretty low-key,” Sebastian said.  “So I probably shouldn’t dress like I would for dinner with _my_ family.”

“Check,” Nick acknowledged.  He understood by Sebastian’s comment that Kurt’s family gathering would be different than the kind of hands-off, formal interactions that a lot of the upperclass Dalton boys had with their families, him and Sebastian included.  “So, don’t overdress.”

“But I don’t want to underdress, either,” Sebastian said.  “His dad has a shotgun.”

“I don’t understand how those two statements are connected,” interjected Jeff.

“Don’t look formal, don’t look sexy, don’t look sloppy,” Nick summarized.

“Mmhmm,” Sebastian groaned.

Jeff was already flipping through his wardrobe, his efforts on Wednesday having familiarized him with the contents on offer.  “That’s a no on the ass-tastic jeans, then?” he mused.

“Definitely not,” Nick agreed.

“What is it with you two and those jeans?” Sebastian questioned.  “I’m feeling objectified.”

“No you’re not,” Nick shot back,  “you feeling like whining.”

Sebastian made an exaggeratedly annoyed face at Nick, and Jeff laughed.  He pulled a couple of pairs of chinos from the wardrobe, holding them up for Nick’s opinion.  Nick grabbed them, examined them briefly, and threw both pairs on the bed next to Sebastian.

“What are the shirt options?” Nick asked.

“Few and far between,” Jeff answered.

“Hey, there’s lots of shirts in there,” Sebastian objected.

“Yeah, and most of them are ugly as fuck.  Didn’t you move here from Paris?” Jeff goaded.

“Yeah, and it was uniforms all the damn time there, too,” Sebastian grumbled.  “Are you helping me, or not?”

Jeff pulled a jersey cardigan in navy blue from the depths of one of Sebastian’s drawers with an approving nod, then went back to flicking through hangers for a shirt.  Nick took the cardigan from Jeff, then held it up against the two pairs of chinos they’d pulled.  He selected a blue-gray pair that reminded Sebastian of the color of Kurt’s eyes.  If he knew Nick and Jeff, though, he’d certainly get teased for mentioning that, so he kept the observation to himself.

“Do shoes while I’m figuring out the shirt thing,” Jeff instructed Nick.

“What’re our options?” Nick asked Sebastian.

Sebastian shifted from his position, leaning down to pull several pairs of shoes from where they were gathering dust underneath the bed.  Nick shrugged, carelessly brushing the accumulated dust from a pair of suede chukka boots before pushing the other, rejected shoes back under the bed.

“Aha!” Jeff emerged from the wardrobe with a triumphant exclamation, a subtly striped button-down in hand.

“You don’t think that makes it too dressy?” hedged Sebastian.

“Better a little too dressy than not quite dressy enough,” said Nick decisively.  “Too dressy just gets you light teasing from the family.  Not dressy enough means disapproving glares.”

“Was that what happened when you met Jeff’s family?” Sebastian asked.

“Nah, Jeff’s family loves me.  They’d adopt me if it wouldn’t make things super weird with Jeff,” Nick bragged.

Jeff grabbed a pillow from Cameron’s bed, and threw it at him.

“Jeff has managed to avoid my appalling family so far, thank God,” Nick sighed exaggeratedly.

“Okay, thanks for your help; now, I’m kicking you out,” Sebastian declared.

“You don’t need any helpful feedback on your shower routine?” Jeff teased.

“If I did, I wouldn’t ask _you_ ,” Sebastian fired back with a laugh.

* * *

Sebastian pulled up outside Kurt’s house ten minutes early, and was debating whether he should wait in the car for a few minutes before knocking when Kurt surprised him, appearing at the front door and making his way to Sebastian’s car.

“I’m sorry, I know I’m early,” Sebastian apologized as he opened the car door.

“It’s cool, I was just hanging out anyway.  Carole kicked me out of the kitchen,” Kurt confided.  “C’mon in,” he encouraged, taking Sebastian’s hand to help him out of the car.

Sebastian straightened his clothes as he emerged from his car.

“Dad’s definitely gonna want to see your car,” Kurt added thoughtfully.  “He’s kind of a domestic enthusiastic, but what man can resist a Porsche?”

“Not you, thankfully,” Sebastian smiled.

Kurt led Sebastian into the house, then paused in the foyer.  “You look nice,” he complimented with a soft smile.

Sebastian, to his extreme embarrassment, felt himself blush.  “You always look good,” he returned.  Kurt did look amazing, but his outfit was different than the sort of thing Sebastian had seen him in before.  He wore a gray sweater, with same-fabric bands crisscrossing the front to form an x, and two more bands looped low over his hips.  Underneath the sweater was a dress shirt, neatly pressed and buttoned to the throat.  The outfit was completed by striped pants and sleek loafers that, to Sebastian’s uncertain eye, looked Italian.  “Although you may be the only person I know who gets _more_ dressed up around the house.”

“At home there’s no one to impress but oneself, but I _do_ set a pretty high bar,” Kurt winked.  “And in this case, I wanted to look nice for you,” he added.

“Mission accomplished,” Sebastian replied, smiling.

Kurt took Sebastian’s hand again, rubbing small, soothing circles on the back with his thumb.  “Well, I guess we might as well go face the music,” he prompted, leading Sebastian up the half-flight of stairs to the main floor.

They entered the living room, where a man, presumably Kurt’s father, was ensconced in a big, squishy recliner, looking very much like the traditional Midwestern man of the house.  He was dressed in jeans, flannel, and a baseball cap, and at first glance didn’t much resemble Kurt.  Something about his evaluative glance, however, struck Sebastian as an expression that would be completely at home on Kurt’s fine-featured face.

“This him?” the man questioned.

“ _Dad_ ,” Kurt whined plaintively, giving the man a meaningful glance.  “Yes, this is Sebastian.  Sebastian, this is my dad, Burt Hummel.”

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Hummel,” Sebastian said, offering his hand.

Burt took Sebastian’s hand and shook it, gripping hard.

“So, Sebastian.  You a Buckeyes fan?” Burt asked.

The topic of conversation seemed a little out of the blue to Sebastian, but he answered gamely, “I mostly don’t follow college sports.  My dad did his undergrad at OSU, though, and I’ve been to a couple of games with him.”

Expressing more enthusiasm for the Buckeyes probably would have pleased Burt, but his lack of knowledge would have been betrayed if Burt had any followup questions.

“I understand you live near Columbus?” Burt asked.

“Yes, sir.  In Westerville, just northeast of Columbus.  My dad works in the city,” Sebastian replied.  “I board at school during the week, but that’s in Westerville as well.”

“That’s a ways away,” Burt mused.  “How did you and Kurt meet?”

Kurt and Sebastian had discussed how they would answer this question, since Kurt certainly didn’t want his dad knowing that he went out to _Scandals_ with a fake ID.

“My friends Nick and Jeff are big fans of the Lima Bean,” Sebastian said.  “Better than the coffee anywhere near school, apparently.  I met Kurt when he was there having coffee with his friends Mercedes and Tina.”

“Hmm,” Burt said.  The evaluative expression remained on his face, but before he got the chance to continue his interrogation, Carole emerged from the kitchen.

“It’s about time for dinner, guys,” she said with a smile.  “I’ve got Finn setting the table, if you want to head in.”  She turned to Sebastian.  “You must be Sebastian.  I’m Carole.”

“It’s lovely to meet you,” Sebastian said with a genuine smile.  Her attitude was much more welcoming than Burt’s, and he relaxed slightly under her pleasant warmth.

Kurt took his hand, and Sebastian followed him through to the small dining room, where Finn was just finishing setting the table.  Side dishes were already set out, and Carole came in from the kitchen with a loaf pan in her oven-mitted hands.

“Mmm,” Finn sniffed.  “Turkey meatloaf?”

“Yep,” Carole responded with a smile.

Everyone sat down at the table, and Finn greeted Sebastian.

“Good to see you again, dude,” he said.

“You, too, Finn,” Sebastian said with a tight smile.  He hadn’t been particularly struck by Finn when they first met, because of his ineffectual protective attitude towards Kurt.  Kurt’s speculation that Finn had told Burt about Sebastian and Kurt’s sexual relationship hadn’t made him well-disposed towards Kurt’s stepbrother, either.  Still, Kurt had allowed that Finn probably meant well, and Sebastian wanted to make a good impression on Kurt’s family, so he was willing to make an effort to be pleasant.

The food was dished out, Finn taking ungodly large servings, and Kurt and Sebastian making up fairly hearty plates for themselves, too.

As they started eating, Burt addressed Sebastian conversationally, "so, I understand you're having sex with my son."

Sebastian choked on his meatloaf. Kurt patted him on the back as Sebastian coughed, and regarded his father with a look of annoyed disbelief.

"Dad," he said coldly, "if you’re trying to kill my boyfriend, you’d be better off waiting until there were fewer witnesses.”

“Good advice, bud,” Burt replied, “knew I raised you right.”

Finn looked mildly baffled by the exchange, and Carole seemed torn between amusement and chagrin.

She took pity on Sebastian.  “You okay, honey?” she asked as Sebastian slowly recovered, coughing.

“I’m fine, thank you,” he got out. “Took a bite a bit too fast.”

“Not the only thing he does too fast,” Burt muttered.

Kurt blushed in a way that made Sebastian smile softly in spite of his embarrassment.  It was fascinating learning about the side of Kurt that he showed around his family, and Sebastian would have dwelled pleasantly on the thought if he weren’t utterly uncomfortable at the moment.

The only course he could think of for moving the conversation forward was to pretend as if he hadn’t heard Burt’s remarks.  “Dinner is lovely, Ms. Hudson-Hummel,” he said.

“Thank you, sweetie.  You can call me Carole,” she replied.

Kurt, who was seated next to Sebastian, stroked his shoulder soothingly.  Sebastian would have liked to hold his hand under the table for support, but given Burt’s chosen topic of conversation, it seemed sensible to keep their hands in plain view.

“Um, Dad,” Kurt spoke into the silence that had descended after Sebastian and Carole’s brief exchange.  “Did I tell you that Sebastian plays on Dalton’s lacrosse team?  I saw one of his games.”

“Can’t say I know much about it,” Burt grumbled with an air of concession.  “What position do you play?”

“Attacker, sir,” Sebastian answered.  “It’s like a forward in hockey or soccer.”

“You any good?”

Sebastian debated how to answer without sounding conceited.  He settled on, “we’ve been doing well so far this season.”  He shot a smile at Kurt, “won that game that I invited you to.”

“He scored five goals, Dad!” Kurt exclaimed proudly.

“Had to impress you, didn’t I?” Sebastian replied with a soft look.

Carole smiled at the boys, and even Burt appeared to soften slightly at this evidence of affection.

“What kind of scores do you usually see in lacrosse?” Finn asked.  Kurt glanced at him, grateful that he was moving the conversation along.

“That was a 7-4 game, which is pretty typical,” Sebastian answered.  “Last week was our homecoming game, and we won 9-2.  All the guys were really bringing their ‘A’ game for that.”

“Cool,” Finn replied.  “The point spread’s so different in football or basketball.”

Sebastian nodded as he munched on a mouthful of green beans.  Kurt smiled.

* * *

The rest of the dinner passed tolerably well, even with the low level of awkwardness present in the background of the conversation.  After dessert (a banana cream pie, which Kurt had apparently baked), Kurt walked Sebastian to the door, following him out onto the porch.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Kurt turned to Sebastian.  “I am _so_ sorry about my dad,” he blurted.

“I think I talked him around a little bit.  Don’t you?” Sebastian asked.

“Well, you are extremely charming,” Kurt mused.  “Thanks for taking this seriously,” he added.

“Of course, darling,” Sebastian replied.  “Did you expect me to be smarmy?”

“I’m never sure,” Kurt said with a teasing smile.

“It was cool to see you with your family like that,” Sebastian said.  “It’s nice how warm you guys are with each other.”

“I could do without the teasing,” Kurt said, “but they can be pretty cool.  Sometimes I do wish Finn and my dad would talk about something other than sports.”

“Sorry, babe,” Sebastian offered.  “I know I wasn’t much help on that front tonight.”

“Whatever,” Kurt shrugged.  “It’s your ‘in.’  You’re officially relatable.”

“You seem to relate to me pretty well even without talking sports,” Sebastian teased.

“Well, we have a few other things in common,” Kurt laughed as he eased closer to Sebastian, brushing a thumb over his jaw.

Sebastian closed the remaining distance, looping an arm around Kurt’s waist and pressing a kiss to his lips.

Sebastian felt Kurt smile into the kiss, and he withdrew to lightly press his lips to the corners of Kurt’s upturned mouth.  Kurt moved a hand to Sebastian’s hip and went to nuzzle into his neck when a flashing porch light reminded them both that they were standing right in front of Kurt’s house.

Sebastian pressed one more quick kiss to Kurt’s lips before drawing back.  

“So how about next week we spend some time with _my_ people?” Sebastian asked.  “Would you like to meet the Warblers?”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: The sexy parts contain mild D/s themes. Of course, without D/s, how could we even consider them sexy parts? ;-)

Sebastian won the undying loyalty of the Warblers by planning a sleepover for that weekend.  One would think that a group of boys who attended the same boarding school wouldn’t be so excited by the prospect of spending even _more_ time together, but apparently sleepovers were a Warbler tradition that had fallen by the wayside this year.  According to Nick and Jeff, last year’s head Warbler Wes had hosted some memorable events, and the boys were looking forward to seeing what Sebastian would put together.

Sebastian was mostly looking forward to putting himself together with Kurt.

He had invited Kurt to the Warblers sleepover in order to introduce his boyfriend to his other friends; so far, Kurt had really only met Jeff.  Sebastian also suspected that Kurt was missing show choir more than he let on, and hoped that the impromptu songs that cropped up whenever the Warblers got together might make him happy.  Kurt had been uncertain about whether his dad would allow it - Burt was more suspicious of how Kurt was spending his time now that he knew that Kurt had a boyfriend - but the presence of 15 other boys and, more importantly, Sebastian’s dad, proved enough of a guarantee for Burt.

When they’d met again at the cafe in Bellefontaine during the week, Kurt had displayed remarkable nonchalance about the prospect of meeting Sebastian’s dad.  “Dad will mostly leave us alone, I’m sure,” Sebastian had said.  “But I’m still surprised you’re not freaking out a little.  I was _terrified_ to meet your dad.”

Kurt had shrugged.  “I think you’re used to charming people, and so the stakes seem higher to you if you don’t.  I’m more used to people hating me on sight, so it’s just not as big a deal.”  That had struck Sebastian as incredibly sad, but Kurt had brushed it off.  “Anyway, _you’ll_ still like me,” he’d added with a self-assured, predatory smile.  They’d hurried to take advantage of the spacious backseat of Kurt’s Navigator after that.

When Kurt knocked on Sebastian’s door on Saturday evening, the Warblers were debating what pizza toppings they should get while Thad presided over them.  David had been trying to talk him down (“we’re in an informal setting, Thad, the gavel is unnecessary”), but had given up after confiding to Sebastian that his arguments had never worked on Wes, either.  Sebastian had been _this close_ to taking the gavel to Thad’s head, so he was thankful for the interruption of Kurt’s arrival.

“Hello, sweetheart,” he smiled at Kurt, drawing him into the foyer and folding him into his arms almost as soon as he opened the door.

“Hey, Bas,” Kurt smiled.  “Pleased to see me?”

“When I decided to introduce you to my friends, I forgot that I really only like a couple of them,” Sebastian quipped.

“Feel free to kick them all out,” Kurt offered.  “I’m happy to have our own private sleepover.”

Sebastian groaned.  “Don’t say stuff like that when you know I _can’t_.  It’s not even fair.”

“All’s fair in perving-on-your-hot-boyfriend and war,” Kurt replied.

“Is it?” Sebastian mused.  “I’ve never heard _quite_ that argument before,” he murmured, nuzzling into Kurt’s neck.  He began to press kisses there as Kurt stroked his hair.

“Mmm,” Kurt moaned softly.

“Ahem.”  The noise of a throat being emphatically cleared came from the nearby hallway.  “I suppose this is Kurt, then?”

Sebastian made an attempt at nonchalance while removing his lips from Kurt’s neck and turning to his father.

“Yes, dad, this is my boyfriend Kurt Hummel.”

Kurt laughed softly, rolling his neck.  “Pleased to meet you,” he offered.  The words had a slight edge that made Sebastian wonder if Kurt was being sarcastic or just defensive, and if his father would notice.

“Hmm,” said Mr. Smythe musingly.  “Well, I wanted to tell you to go ahead and put the pizzas on your credit card, when your friends decide what they want.  It’s nice to see you with guests.”

“Uh, thanks, Dad,” Sebastian replied, somewhat nonplussed.  His father headed back down the hallway, presumably to his office.  “That was weird,” he said to Kurt.

“You think so?” Kurt asked.  “I like him.”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow in disbelief, but slipped one of his hands into Kurt’s.  “Wanna go meet the Warblers?” he asked.

Kurt paused consideringly.  “In a minute,” he said.  He led Sebastian to the nearby wall, then pressed him against it, their joined hands resting next to Sebastian’s head.  “I doubt I’ll be able to go hours without kissing you if I don’t get my fill right now,” he said, punctuating the last two words with hot, wet kisses to Sebastian’s jaw and just behind his ear.

Sebastian choked back a moan as he raised his other hand to tangle in Kurt’s hair.  Kurt grabbed it, redirecting it to rest on the other side of Sebastian’s head, framing him against the wall.

“Uh-uh” Kurt admonished.  “You were ready to skip this part.  I think we’ll go at exactly my pace.”

Sebastian squirmed against Kurt, who only pinned him more firmly, his knee now between Sebastian’s, their hips aligned.  Kurt licked a stripe up Sebastian’s neck, from his collarbone to right behind his ear, then nibbled lightly on his earlobe.

“And I feel,” Kurt continued, “like going _slow_.”

Sebastian groaned, letting his head fall back against the wall.  He tried to relax under Kurt’s ministrations.  Kurt knew exactly what he was doing, and so it occurred to Sebastian that he ought to trust that Kurt would make him feel good.  His body, though, was reluctant to following the reasoning of his logical mind.  All he felt was the desire to be closer to Kurt, _right_ _now_.  He felt himself hardening against Kurt, rubbing desperately for friction.

“You’re pretty eager for a boy who was ready to go straight to the other room without doing any,” Kurt paused to nibble at the curve of Sebastian’s jaw, “of this.”

It was true.  To the extent that Sebastian was currently able to engage in conscious thought, he was surprised at how quickly Kurt was able to make him fall apart.  The other boy hadn’t kissed him even once on the lips, and the kisses and caresses that he had given were in relatively neutral territory - skin that was exposed in almost any outfit.  Still, Sebastian felt his nerves firing in overdrive, lust spiking at the sensation of the long lines of Kurt’s body pressed firmly against his.

“Clearly,” Sebastian panted, his hips bucking up against Kurt, “you are the smart one in this relationship.”

“Mmm, that’s what I like to hear,” Kurt mused.  He pressed his hips and torso back into Sebastian so firmly that Sebastian barely had room to squirm.   _How was this so hot_?

“Darling, I will compliment you for days,” Sebastian said, then paused to moan.  “Kiss me.”

“What do you think I’m doing?” Kurt asked, then pressed a kiss to the plumpest part of Sebastian’s cheek.

“You know what I mean, Kurt,” Sebastian whined.

“I’m not certain,” Kurt replied, then kissed the other cheek.  “You need to learn to ask for what you want.”

“God, I just want _you_ ,” Sebastian said with heavy emphasis.

Kurt moved to whisper, his breath hot in Sebastian’s ear.  “Later,” he said, softly but so emphatically.  He finally moved his lips to Sebastian’s to give him the kiss he was aching for: hot, deep, and more than a little dirty.  Then he pulled away, leaving Sebastian painfully hard, and turned to the hallway.  The sound of Sebastian’s blood rushing in his ears faded somewhat, and he heard the voices of the Warblers in the den.

Balanced between pleasure and frustration, Sebastian groaned to Kurt.  “Why are you doing this to me?”

“Why does anyone do anything?” Kurt mused.  “For fun!”

“I think I may hate you,” Sebastian replied.

“Well, give it some thought,” Kurt instructed.  “You can get back to me.  Later,” he added, in the low whisper he’d used a few moments ago.

“Guh,” responded Sebastian inarticulately.

Kurt cocked a hip, turning to look expectantly at Sebastian, who paused in an attempt to calm his rebellious body.  He twitched with self-consciousness and suppressed desire under Kurt's cool gaze.  With a deep breath, he gathered himself and brushed past Kurt and into the hallway, leading the way to the room where his friends waited - hopefully with their pizza orders.

"Seb!" David cried in welcome as they entered the room.  It was clear to Sebastian's brief glance that David was relieved at the opportunity to interrupt Thad, whose attempts to preside over the discussion of pizza toppings had devolved into a cacophony of shouting and bangs of the gavel.

"Why did that guy bring a gavel to a sleepover?  I mean, have I been doing sleepovers wrong all these years, or is this just a weird fetish?" Kurt questioned Sebastian.

Jeff overheard, and responded "fetish, definitely," at a volume that quickly redirected the attention of the room.

"Who has a weird fetish?" demanded Nick, immediately interested.

"Oh, we were just discussing Thad's gavel fetish," Jeff replied with feigned nonchalance.

"My positive feelings regarding the gavel are entirely appropriate to its organizational function!" Thad said, offended.

"Did its organizational function help you figure out the pizza order?" Sebastian questioned.

"We had almost reached an agreement," Thad said.

"The rest of us _had_ reached an agreement," asserted Trent from across the room.  "You just thought that you could use the authority of your place on the Warbler Council to get a pizza with anchovies.  Which you _cannot_."  The rest of the Warblers nodded in agreement, while Thad looked incensed.

"I was swaying you to the merits of my perspective!" Thad blustered.

Sebastian heaved a sigh and looked to Nick, asking, "so, what did you decide?"  Both boys pointedly ignored Thad while Nick handed Sebastian his iPad, pizzeria app open with an order typed in.  Sebastian nodded his agreement, entering his credit card details to finalize the order.

"Ahem.  Now that that's out of the way," Sebastian said, "I'd like to introduce our guest."  He gestured to the space behind him, where Kurt had been quietly discussing the erotic possibilities of a gavel with Jeff.  "This is my boyfriend, Kurt.  He goes to McKinley in Lima.  Kurt, these are the Warblers.  You know Jeff, who has undoubtedly told you a wealth of boring and unnecessary information about his boyfriend Nick over there.  We also have my fellow council members, David and Thad," he said, indicating those boys in turn.  "Then the rest of 'em," he added dismissively.  "I'm sure you'll forget everyone's names once we get to the drinking part, anyway."

"Can we get to the drinking part now?" asked Flint, one of the Warblers that Sebastian had neglected to introduce by name.

"Better to hold off 'til my dad's asleep," Sebastian answered apologetically.

"How about karaoke?" Trent suggested optimistically.

"Do I look like someone who owns a karaoke machine?" Sebastian asked.

Kurt gave him a once-over, then paused as if evaluating the answer to Sebastian's question.  Sebastian elbowed him playfully, then suggested, "we could break out the iPod."

David picked up an iPod that was laying near him on the coffee table, then passed it to Flint where he leaned against the wall.  He docked the iPod in the den's impressive stereo system, and hit play.  Live While We're Young started blaring through the speakers, and Kurt walked to the stereo, wrinkling his nose.  He swiped through the docked iPod, his eyebrow raised at some of the songs and artists in the collection.  He turned to Sebastian.  “Tell me this isn’t your iPod,” he implored.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Thad demanded.

Sebastian only laughed.  “Property of the Warblers,” he explained.  “It just had songs we know, or want to learn, or like to goof around on.  Everyone adds to it.”

“I’d advise you to look outside top 40,” Kurt began, continuing to scroll through the options on offer, “except...”

He hit play on something, then tapped his feet to the intro.  It took a moment for most of the boys to nod in recognition, then smile as Gaga recited,

> _Silicone, saline, poison inject me_
> 
> _Baby, I'm a free bitch, I'm a free bitch_

Sebastian gestured, inviting Kurt to take the verse.  Someone turned the volume down on the track as the Warblers picked up a loose a capella arrangement of the instrumental backup.  Kurt sang,

> _Some girls won't dance to the beat of the track_
> 
> _She won't walk away but she won't look back_
> 
> _She looks good but her boyfriend says she's a mess_
> 
> _She's a mess she's a mess_
> 
> _Now the girl is stressed_
> 
> _She's a mess she's a mess_
> 
> _She's a mess she's a mess_

Sebastian joined him on lead vocals for the chorus, taking over the melody while Kurt shifted to high harmony, and together they sang,

> _Baby loves to dance in the dark_
> 
> _'Cause when he's lookin' she falls apart_
> 
> _Baby loves to dance, dance in the dark_
> 
> _Baby loves to dance in the dark_
> 
> _'Cause when he's lookin' she falls apart_
> 
> _Baby loves to dance, dance in the dark_

They continued in that vein, Sebastian joining Kurt on the choruses while Kurt sang the verses alone, with Warbler backup.  The entire group joined for the final chorus, singing,

> _Baby loves to dance in the dark_
> 
> _'Cause when he's lookin', she falls apart_
> 
> _Baby loves to dance in the dark_
> 
> _Baby, baby loves to dance in the dark_
> 
> _'Cause when he's lookin', she falls apart_
> 
> _Baby loves to dance in the dark in the dark_

When the song came to a close, Kurt turned to the Warblers with a bright, genuine smile.

"Thanks, guys," he said.  "That was really fun."

"Are you in the glee club at McKinley?" Trent asked.  "You have a beautiful voice."  Several of the other Warblers nodded in agreement.

Kurt's expression turned sad and thoughtful.  "I was my last two years, but not this year," he replied.  "I never got the chance to sing much outside the background in any case."

"That sucks," Jeff asserted confidently.  "The Warblers would totally kill for a countertenor."

"Well, if you ever start allowing non-students, I'll have to give it some thought," Kurt joked, with a soft, flattered smile.

Sebastian was pleased to see that even Trent, who was sweet and bubbly but easily got shy, was clearly comfortable with Kurt, in spite of his intimidating appearance; the way to a Warbler's heart is through music, and Kurt had hit all the right notes.

* * *

Later that night, after pizza, more singing, and a movie (the boys had gone with _Boondock Saints_ , _Pitch Perfect_ having been dismissed as too on-the-nose), the Warblers broke out the case of light beer that Nick's older brother had obtained for them.

Sebastian wrinkled his nose as he reached for the beer Jeff passed him, and he was startled by Kurt's laughter next to him.

"The look on your face just now reminded me of the day we met," Kurt explained.  When Nick looked at him questioningly, he went on, "he swept up to the bar and he was like, 'barkeep, your finest microbrew -'"

"I was _not!_ " Sebastian objected.

"Close enough," Kurt teased. "Anyway, the bartender gave him some godawful thing, and he took a sip, and then right in the middle of trying to give me a once-over, Bas just made this _face_!" Kurt imitated the face in question, amusingly similar to the one Sebastian had just been making, and dissolved in laughter.  It must have been contagious, because in moments the rest of the boys had joined in, drinking terrible light beer and giggling their heads off.

Sebastian observed Kurt with a sweet smile. He was so pleased to see Kurt enjoying himself, and getting along with his friends.  Even more, he was surprisingly touched that Kurt remembered their first meeting so well, even if the other boy's impression of Sebastian's behavior had brought a blush to his cheeks.

As the Warblers became increasingly tipsy, Kurt snuggled up against Sebastian's side.  Sebastian's arm went around Kurt, pulling the other boy firmly to him, and Kurt laid his head on Sebastian's shoulder, allowing himself to relax into the protective cradle of Sebastian's body.  Both boys sipped terrible beer, and melted into each other.  Sebastian kissed the top of Kurt's head, savoring the scent of Kurt's high-end hair products.  Kurt stroked Sebastian's chest lightly, and when his fingers trailed lower to brush Sebastian's stomach, the warm, comfortable sensations that Sebastian was experiencing began to shift and twist into the hot _need_ that Kurt had provoked in him earlier in the evening.

Sebastian looked around at the Warblers chatting carelessly, Kurt watching them all with casual interest.  Bringing his lips to Kurt's ear, he whispered, "come upstairs with me."

"It's not very polite to leave your guests to fend for themselves at _your_ party," Kurt replied teasingly.

"Babe, you said 'later,' and this is about as much later as I can stand.  Do you want to be responsible for my spontaneous combustion?" Sebastian wheedled.

Kurt chuckled softly, "I think you can manage.  If horniness caused spontaneous combustion, teenage boys everywhere would be constantly catching on fire."

"You want me to 'manage' on my own when you're right here?  Because I'd think that it would be more fun for you to be involved," Sebastian replied in a low, cajoling tone.

"I didn't say that," Kurt shot back loftily.  "Now, did you say something about heading upstairs?"

Regretfully, Sebastian unwound his body from Kurt's, consoling himself with the reminder that soon they'd be even more intertwined.  He rose and offered a hand to Kurt, pulling the other boy to his feet.  With a glance over his largely preoccupied guests, and a winked response to Nick's quirked eyebrow, Sebastian pulled Kurt from the room.

With Kurt's hand in his, Sebastian climbed the stairs.  Turning to Kurt, he lifted a finger to his lips to request silence when they reached the top landing.  Light-footed even in his Doc Marten boots, Kurt followed Sebastian into his bedroom.

Sebastian closed the door behind them, and his eyes met Kurt's as he turned the lock.  The remarkable, undefinable color was relegated to a thin ring around Kurt's wide-blown pupils.  He licked his lips, which then curved in a wicked smile as he observed Sebastian standing by the door, squeezing his hands in tight fists at his side, biting his lip.  Kurt stalked back towards him, taking Sebastian's hands, loosening the boy's fists by lacing his fingers between Sebastian's.  Standing so close to each other, Sebastian could feel Kurt's deep, even breathing.  With difficulty, he held himself still, waiting to see how Kurt would make good on his threats/promises now that "later" had arrived.

"I like your room," Kurt observed conversationally.  His lips were near Sebastian's face, and Sebastian shivered as he felt the ghost of Kurt's breath along his cheek.

Sebastian's eyes fell closed before he replied.  "Do you?  I think my dad hired a decorator."

"Hmm," was Kurt's musing response before he moved to brush his cheek against Sebastian's.

His skin was silky, interrupted by light stubble softer than Sebastian's own.  This late in the evening, his own stubble was rough on his face, prickly where Kurt's skin brushed against it.  In the dim light, Sebastian could see a hint of redness on Kurt's cheek.  He kissed the spot softly, and Kurt smiled.

"Now that you've got me alone," Kurt mused, "what do you suppose you'll do with me?"

Heated flared and twisted in Sebastian's stomach.  Thinking back to their interlude when Kurt had arrived earlier in the evening, and the sensations that had been provoked in Sebastian by Kurt's taking charge, he responded, "I'm more interested to see what _you'll_ do with _me_."

A wicked grin bloomed again on Kurt's face.  "It's like that, then?"

"If you're up for it," Sebastian said with feigned nonchalance.

"I think that you," said Kurt, "are the one who's going to be _up_ for it before long."

Sebastian was leaning at the shoulders against the door behind him, and Kurt pressed up close, insinuating a hand between Sebastian and the door to rest in Sebastian's back pocket, firmly cupping his ass.  He kissed Sebastian's neck softly before biting down firmly.  

When Sebastian whimpered in response, Kurt asked, "you can be quiet, can't you, baby?"  Sebastian nodded emphatically, but Kurt continued.  "Because if not, I'll have to stop, and we'll have to go back downstairs.  You wouldn't want that, would you?"  Sebastian shook his head, but didn't make another sound.

"Good boy," Kurt praised quietly.  Sebastian clenched his free hand into a tight fist, and Kurt returned to lavishing kisses and bites on Sebastian's exposed neck.  When he bit down on the same spot that had provoked Sebastian's earlier whimper, Sebastian dug his fingernails into the palm of his clenched hand in an attempt to avoid a moan.

When Kurt moved to kiss him, Sebastian let the moan go, let it be swallowed by Kurt's mouth.  Their tongues tangled together, then Kurt let out a gasp of his own when Sebastian took advantage of a pause to nibble on Kurt's lower lip.  Sebastian's cock was hardening, pressing against his fitted jeans, but he craved the firmer pressure of Kurt's hand against it.

 _Or his mouth_ , the thought occurred to Sebastian as Kurt knelt in front of him, taking advantage of the assistance of Sebastian's hand in his to lower himself gracefully even in his skintight pants.

"Kurt?" Sebastian questioned softly.

"I got you," Kurt reassured him as he moved a hand to Sebastian's belt while simultaneously pressing a soft kiss to his denim-clad thigh.

"Oh!" Sebastian exclaimed.  "Condom?"

Kurt had undone Sebastian's belt, but his hand paused on the boy's fly.  "Are you clean?" he asked.

"I ought to be, but I haven't gotten tested in a while," he gasped out softly.  "I'd better - _fuck_ ," he exclaimed, distracted by sight of Kurt pulling down the zipper of Sebastian's jeans with his teeth.  "Uh, better use a condom until I can get tested again."

"You sure?" Kurt asked.  "If you say you've been safe, I trust you."  He pressed a kiss to Sebastian's cock, straining through the fabric of his boxer briefs.

"Fuck, sweetheart, I can't think when you're doing that," Sebastian said, threading his fingers into Kurt's coiffed hair.  Kurt drew back cooperatively, and Sebastian continued.  "I mean, I have, but I just want to be absolutely sure.  I _need_ to, for you."

Kurt smiled softly.  "That's sweet."  He settled back with his thighs folded above his calves, giving Sebastian room to maneuver around him.  "Get the condom, then."

Sebastian didn't need to be told twice.  Holding his undone jeans awkwardly, he stumbled over to the nightstand and tore a condom loose from the strip in his drawer.  He eyed the bed speculatively, but Kurt motioned to the door where he'd been leaning before.

"I want you just like this, baby," Kurt said.

Sebastian moved back to the door and took Kurt's hand, helping the other boy back into a more upright kneeling position.  Kurt eased Sebastian's jeans and underwear down his thighs and calves.  Sebastian trembled as Kurt moved his hands to stroke the backs of Sebastian's thighs, from just below the curve of his ass to the backs of his knees.  He nuzzled briefly into the crease where Sebastian's thigh met his crotch, then shifted to unfold Sebastian's hand from around the condom he'd grabbed.  Kurt took the condom and finally turned his attention to Sebastian's hard cock where it bobbed in front of him.  Kurt ripped the packaging open and rolled the condom slowly down over Sebastian's length, then stroked slowly, lightly, from the tip down to the base as if checking that the condom was firmly in place.  Sebastian hummed an unvoiced moan at the touch to his sensation-starved erection.

"Lay your palms flat against the door behind you, and leave them there," Kurt instructed.  It was a slightly awkward position for Sebastian's shoulders, but he found that it wasn't _too_ difficult to hold.  "Good boy," Kurt praised when Sebastian had done as he was told.  Sebastian felt a blush warm his cheeks, but the warmth bloomed, too, across his chest, and in his groin, the additional blood flow hardening his already erect cock even further.

Kurt returned his hands to the backs of Sebastian's thighs, pressing firmly just below the curve of his ass, angling Sebastian's pelvis slightly towards him.  He took the tip into his mouth and sucked firmly, and Sebastian's fingers scrabbled against the wood of the door as he tried not to squirm or thrust.

"Mmm," Kurt spoke as he pulled back from Sebastian's erection.  "You have a gorgeous cock."

"Thank you," Sebastian whimpered, his fingers clenching against the door.

Kurt nipped lightly at Sebastian's thigh before saying, "you're welcome, but speaking will _not_ be required."  Sebastian nodded his understanding.

"One day," Kurt mused, "I'd like to get you _truly_ alone.  Let you be as loud as you want.  I bet I could make you _scream_."

He took Sebastian into his mouth all at once, as deeply as he could manage without making the effort to relax his throat first, and Sebastian scratched frantically at the door under his hands, trying not to moan at the unexpected sensation.  He felt Kurt breathe through his nose and then, with deliberate effort, ease his lips further down Sebastian's erection.  Sebastian swivelled his hips, and Kurt removed a hand from the back of Sebastian's thigh to swat at his hip.  Sebastian felt the sting of the swat as a jolt of pleasure/pain, and even through his best efforts was unable to keep himself still, instead thrusting into Kurt's mouth.  He felt Kurt smile around him before pulling off.

"Oh, you like that," he remarked, before sinking his mouth back down onto Sebastian's cock.  Sebastian vocalized some syllables that weren't quite words, and Kurt moved his hands up Sebastian's thighs to his ass, digging black-polished fingernails into the tender flesh there.  Sebastian's cock filled Kurt's throat, and he felt every one of Kurt's deliberate breaths through the nose.  He trembled as Kurt swallowed hard around him, creating a firm suction as he moved his mouth up and down Sebastian's length.  Sebastian flattened his palms, pressing hard against the wood of the door, his toes curling.

Kurt moved one hand to grasp Sebastian's hip in a bruising grip, then trailed the index finger of his other hand lightly along the crack of Sebastian's ass.  He sunk his mouth down on Sebastian's cock to the base, flattening his tongue to apply more pressure, and took the hand off of Sebastian's hip, pressing the heel of it against his own erection.  When he moved his other trailing finger to tease Sebastian's hole, Sebastian was unable to suppress a moan, the stimulation prompting him to imagine Kurt's cock in place of the finger.  Sebastian had bottomed plenty before, but he usually preferred to top.   _Kurt, though_ , he thought, _I bet he really knows how to_ fuck _a guy_.

That image, combined with the sensations created by Kurt's hands and mouth, sent Sebastian over the edge.  He came, trembling, with a loud groan.  When he realized the noise he'd made, he clapped a hand over his mouth.  Kurt pulled off of Sebastian's cock and giggled.

"I can't blame you too much, baby," he said.  "I know I'm fantastic."

"Fucking right," Sebastian growled.  He held himself up as Kurt pulled the condom off of him, then collapsed against the door and sank to the floor as Kurt knotted it and tossed it in the nearby trash can.  Kurt shifted around so that he was sitting next to Sebastian, then drew the other boy in against his chest.  Sebastian snuggled in closer, a sated smile on his face.  Kurt kissed the top of his head, and Sebastian trailed his fingers down to Kurt's crotch, frowning when he didn't encounter the erection he expected.

"Not hot enough for you?" he questioned, petulant and insecure.

"Uh, too hot," Kurt blushed.  "I came about when you did," he added bashfully, adjusting himself in his jeans.

Sebastian smiled, then kissed Kurt lightly on the lips.  "I can't blame you," he said, echoing Kurt's earlier sentiment.  "I know I'm fantastic."


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: More D/s themes. The power games are going a little deeper than last chapter, but I haven't written any scenes that involve the boys talking about what they're doing or discussing their limits. In my head, they've discussed these issues briefly, but not in the depth they deserve, because I don't really expect most teenagers stumbling into BDSM to be that sensible. For anyone exploring these types of kinks IRL, please educate yourself and engage in open communication with your partner(s). Safe, sane, and consensual. 
> 
> New warnings for bullying, physical violence, and pervasive intimidation. In other words, the canonical Karofsky storyline.

"Undress for me, baby," Kurt directed Sebastian. It was a Thursday, and Sebastian had barred Cameron from their dorm room until curfew on pain of death, because Kurt had made the lengthy trip to Dalton on a weeknight.

It was December, and the boys had been dating for almost two months, but their opportunities to spend time together were all too rare because of their schedules, parents, and how far apart they lived.  It was unusual for them to see each other at all during the week, and it looked as if Kurt was planning to take full advantage of the opportunity.

"What about you?" Sebastian pressed.  He and Kurt were quite active - some might even say adventurous - sexually, but Sebastian had had remarkably few opportunities to see Kurt undressed. Layers were more than a fashion statement for Kurt; they were a way of life.  He always seemed to take off as little as possible, and Sebastian was maddened by the rare, tantalizing glimpses he was afforded of Kurt's near-translucently pale skin.

"We're not talking about me right now, we're talking about you," Kurt responded evenly. "Unless you'd rather turn this into a study date?"

Sebastian swallowed thickly.  His cock was straining at the fabric of his uniform trousers, near-painfully hard from the extended makeout they'd just interrupted.  He did _not_ want to turn this into a study date.  His hands went to the buttons of his shirt.

Kurt's mouth curved into a wicked smile. "That's what I thought," he remarked. He moved to recline in Sebastian's desk chair, extending his long, lean legs in front of him, watching as Sebastian undressed.

Sebastian was far from a virgin, hadn't been one even long before he met Kurt.  Still, Kurt somehow managed to provoke a kind of embarrassed arousal by his frank gaze, and Sebastian's cheeks flushed delicately red under the scrutiny.  Kurt was more appreciative than critical, though, and his commentary reassured Sebastian that there was no need for him to be embarrassed.

"Gorgeous," Kurt remarked softly as Sebastian eased his shirt off, baring his muscular arms and a hint of his tanned chest above his undershirt.  Sebastian smiled at the praise, and pulled his undershirt up over his head, too.

Sebastian could see the outline of Kurt's erection straining at his burgundy corduroys, but he tamped down on his desire to reach out and stroke it.  He had learned by now that it was best if he let Kurt take the lead.  When he truly surrendered himself, the sex was spectacular, bordering on transcendent.  In other words, it was what Sebastian had been missing from their interactions the first time they'd come together, in Kurt's car in the _Scandals_ parking lot.

When Sebastian was fully naked, Kurt regarded him with a fierce, hungry gaze, and stood to peel off his own zippered hoodie, laying it next to the flannel-lined leather jacket that he'd placed over the back of Sebastian's desk chair when he'd arrived.  Sebastian's eyes raked over the fitted henley that was revealed, clinging to Kurt's lean musculature.  Resettling in the chair, Kurt's hands went to unlace his heavy boots.

Picking apart the knotted laces with deft fingers, Kurt directed, "on the bed, Bas."  Sebastian hurried to comply, laying on the bed and looking back to Kurt.  "On your stomach," Kurt clarified without raising his head, flicking his eyes to observe Sebastian briefly through dark lashes.

Sebastian took a deep breath and rolled over to his stomach.  He relaxed, letting himself be enveloped by a heavy calm.  He had no choices to make, and so there was no need to worry.  It was the safety of releasing himself fully into Kurt's command.

It might have taken several minutes for Kurt to join him on the bed, but the length of time didn't seem meaningful to Sebastian.  He floated, present in his dorm room but at the same time feeling light, and heavy, and weightless as in a warm, densely salted sea.

He felt the mattress dip next to him, smelled the light scent of smoke that had mostly dissipated in the time since Kurt arrived, and felt the familiar touch of Kurt's palm firm between his shoulder blades.

"Good job, Bas."  Kurt's voice was rough and sweet and thick like honey.  Sebastian tilted his head towards Kurt, but a gentle hand on his cheek stilled him.  "No, sweetheart.  Stay just like that."

Sebastian snuggled his face down into the pillow, groaning contentedly.  Distantly, he sensed Kurt settling above him, his knees framing Sebastian's thighs, his hands resting teasingly low on Sebastian's back.  It was coming up on the end of lacrosse season, and his tired muscles tensed under the pressure until Kurt began to rub.  He kneaded Sebastian's lower back and followed the tension down into the bunching muscles of his ass.  Sebastian moaned with a confused melange of muscle relaxation and arousal.

Kurt seemed to understand the pleading character of Sebastian's moan.  Sebastian wouldn't have outright asked for Kurt to turn his attention more directly to sexual matters, but Kurt always seemed to know what Sebastian needed.  He gripped Sebastian's hip, arching Sebastian up towards him, and moved to tease Sebastian's hole with the index finger of his other hand.  Sebastian's moans turned to light, desperate whimpers, and Kurt's hands withdrew.  Sebastian heard a condom wrapper tear, and the snap of a bottle opening.  There was a pause, then, before two fingers, slick with lube, eased into him.

"Nguh," said Sebastian, rolling his hips up to meet Kurt's fingers, working them deeper.

"That's it, baby," said Kurt encouragingly.  "You're taking it so good.  I knew you could take two."

Kurt's other hand was back on Sebastian's hip, pushing him gently down, so Sebastian shifted from working himself open on Kurt's fingers to rutting against the mattress as Kurt stretched him.  His hips bucked when Kurt added a third finger, but Kurt simply increased the pressure on Sebastian's hip, holding him firmly in place.

"You're almost ready, baby."

"I'm ready, Kurt.  Please," Sebastian whimpered.

"What was that?"  Kurt's fingers stilled inside him, and though Sebastian whimpered and squirmed, Kurt's other hand remained firm on Sebastian's hip.

"I... I'm ready," Sebastian replied softly, almost questioningly, sensing that he had somehow displeased Kurt.

"Don't I always know how to make you feel good?" Kurt questioned, his tone deceptively light.

"Yes, Kurt," Sebastian answered.

"You like how I make you feel, don't you, baby?"

"Yes, Kurt."

"So then trust me.  You are _ready_ when I _say_ you're ready."  Quickly, before Sebastian realized that Kurt's hand had moved, he felt it coming down on his ass with a hard _smack_.  Free from the restriction of Kurt's grip on his hip, Sebastian bucked violently, moaning loudly.

"Shh," Kurt implored.

Sebastian buried his face further in his pillow and whimpered softly.  He was glad for the muffling effect of the pillow when Kurt's fingers began moving again in his ass; the noise he made would probably be most accurately described as a squeal.

Kurt leaned down to kiss the back of Sebastian's neck, and Sebastian felt the shape of Kurt's smile against his skin.

" _Now_ you're ready," Kurt whispered.  He settled back, then eased himself inside Sebastian at an agonizingly slow pace, inch by inch, Sebastian stretching around Kurt's thick cock.  Sebastian reveled in the exquisite pain of the stretch, groaning as Kurt resituated himself with one hand on Sebastian's hip and the other between his shoulder blades, pressing him down into the mattress.  Kurt didn't start to move right away, and Sebastian whimpered desperately for more sensation, his nerves going off like fireworks of arousal.

When Kurt did begin to move ( _finally_ , thought Sebastian), it was so slow, so gentle, that Sebastian fought the urge to rebel against Kurt's restrictions and set the pace himself, faster and harder.  But Kurt's hands on his back and hip were firm and strong, and he clenched his jaw and drew comfort from Kurt's strength.

As Sebastian relaxed under him, Kurt responded by picking up the pace.  Sebastian's moans grew louder even against his pillow, and he bit down hard to stem the noise.  He whimpered and let Kurt move against him, and when the head of Kurt's cock brushed against his prostate, the pillow muffled his scream.

It was difficult for Sebastian to say how long they kept on like that.  Conscious thought dimmed as he lost himself in sensation, until suddenly he felt the hot pulse of Kurt coming, filling the condom, pressing Sebastian's hips down but allowing him the freedom to rut desperately against the mattress.  Sebastian came right after, messily, with a loud, satisfied groan.

"Stay there for a minute," Kurt said.  His tone of command was already waning to the warm, friendly way he interacted with Sebastian outside of sex.  

Sebastian's mind was fuzzy in the aftermath of his orgasm, and with a soft "hmm?" he rolled over, reaching towards his nightstand for a tissue.

"Stay there, I said," Kurt yelled, his voice unexpectedly high and screechy, piercing Sebastian's post-coital haze.

Sebastian shook his head to clear it and looked at Kurt with his eyebrows drawn together.  Kurt had pulled on his boxer briefs, but was otherwise undressed, and his arms were hugged protectively around him.  They failed, though, to block all of his bruised shoulder, mottled from purple to yellow, betraying that what looked like one huge bruise was actually multiple bruises of different ages.

Sebastian sprung from the bed, going to Kurt, peeling his arms away.  "What the fuck is this, Kurt?"  Sebastian's voice sounded angry, but his eyes were wide and shining with concern.

Where Kurt had been confident and sure moments before, he now sounded quiet and uncertain.  "I wasn't gonna... I mean, I know they look bad.  You weren't supposed to see..."

"How could you hide something like this from me?"  Sebastian demanded.  Further examination showed that Kurt's back was covered in similar bruises.  "Who did this to you?"

From what he'd seen of Kurt's family life, Sebastian thought that the abuse probably wasn't taking place at home - _although really, you never know_ , he reminded himself.  Still, school seemed most likely, but Sebastian had always had the impression that Kurt's bad boy image protected him from things like this.  Had Kurt told a teacher?  His dad?

"Don't worry about it, Sebastian," Kurt said.  He pulled away and resumed dressing himself.

"How am I supposed to not worry about this?  How long has it been going on?"

Kurt turned away from him, not answering, until Sebastian circled in front of him and took Kurt's face in his hands.

"This isn't okay, Kurt.  Let me help you."

"You can't," Kurt said with pained finality.  Sebastian's heart lurched at the vulnerability Kurt was displaying, that he'd rarely shown before.  Sebastian pulled Kurt back down to the bed, then folded the other boy into his arms.  He buried his face in Kurt's hair, hiding his own tears at the thought of his beautiful boyfriend being hurt this way.  He ran his hands up and down Kurt's arms reassuringly and, with a deep breath, Kurt began to speak.

"I don't know if you remember, but before we were dating I told you a little bit about what it used to be like for me at school, back when I was in the glee club."  Sebastian nodded against Kurt's hair, and Kurt continued, "the worst bullies were a few of the guys on the football team.  Most of them basically laid off once my dad and Finn's mom got married, because apparently it's bad form to harass the quarterback's stepbrother.  But Azimio and Karofsky, they didn't stop.  If anything, they got worse.  Karofsky especially seemed personally offended that I was being allowed to exist in relative peace."  Kurt's voice held a bitter tone that Sebastian recognized from when they'd first met, before he'd really gotten to know Kurt.  He hadn't realized quite how much Kurt had mellowed and relaxed around him until his walls slammed back up.

"I tried to lay low," Kurt continued.  "I quit glee club, kept to myself, but the bullying didn't let up.  I wasn't just getting a slushy to the face, I was getting a dumpster toss in the morning and a hard locker check every passing period.  The bruises I got were just like these."

Sebastian lifted his head from where it rested against Kurt's and pressed a kiss to Kurt's shoulder.  There was no sound of sniffling, only the hint of tears in Kurt's voice and the wetness dripping down his cheeks showed that Kurt was crying.

"I put off telling anyone for a long time.  I'd always dealt with bullying, I was used to it.  And it was so pervasive, I thought the teachers _had_ to be seeing it and that they just didn't care.  I also knew that if I told the school, my dad would hear about it.  He'd had a heart attack earlier in the year, and I was worried about what the stress would do to his health.  But eventually, it got to be too much.  I was missing school, I was terrified all the time... I told Coach Sue.  I think I told you about her before - she used to be my cheerleading coach."  Sebastian nodded.

"She's a terrifying woman," Kurt continued, "but she always seemed to have a weird soft spot for me.  When I told her what was going on, she took me straight to the principal to make a formal report.  But Principal Figgins refused to do anything.  He said that it was my word against Karofsky and Azimio, and there were two of them.  No one would admit to witnessing the dumpster tosses, and the locker checks were written off as 'accidental jostling in the hallway.'  The principal called all of our parents in, and my dad went into fierce papa bear mode, but there was nothing he could do.  It was almost the end of the school year at that point, so the whole thing kind of got swept aside.

"Over the summer, I started hanging out with the Skanks.  I already knew Quinn from glee club, and when I saw her with these other girls - smoking, terrorizing people around town - I thought, 'wow, no one messes with them.'  I was already cultivating my image, with designer clothes and coiffed hair, so I just started cultivating a different, more intimidating one.  The girls accepted me, and when I went back to school in the fall I was one of them.  Even Karofsky left me alone.  And that was when you and I first met."

Sebastian thought back on the cold, aloof boy that he'd been hypnotized by that first night at _Scandals_.  The more he learned about Kurt, the more that boy made sense.

"Things went pretty well at school until a couple of weeks ago," Kurt said.  "That was when Karofsky somehow found out that I had a boyfriend."

Sebastian stilled.  Had he somehow been the cause of this abuse?  Kurt turned to him and smiled reassuringly through his tears, always trying to keep others from worrying.

"It's not your fault, baby.  It's no one's fault but _Karofsky's_."  He hissed the name through his teeth, his voice cold in a way Sebastian had never heard, and never hoped to hear again.

"Apparently fear of the Skanks was enough to keep him at bay when the issue was merely my existence.  Being gay is one thing, but apparently, acting on it is quite another.  I guess I can only be glad that he never found out about my _Scandals_ hookups before you and I got together," Kurt added offhandedly.

Sebastian's stomach sunk.  Kurt might _say_ that it wasn't Sebastian's fault, but it sure sounded like it to him.

"The locker checks started up again.  One nice thing about leather jackets is that they cushion the blows a bit.  The bruises are still bad, but I'm not getting scrapes from locker vents and knobs like I used to."

Sebastian ached for Kurt.  Tightening his arms around him, he said, "this isn't okay, sweetheart.  If the school won't do anything, go to the cops.  You could file criminal charges.  I bet you could sue the school district, too, for creating an unsafe environment."

"I... There's more.  I don't want it all getting out."

"What is it, Kurt?  Anything you did in self-defense is okay.  My dad is state's attorney, he could advise you.  I won't let you get in trouble," Sebastian said.

"It's not that," Kurt replied quietly.

"What, then?" Sebastian asked.

"Having the Skanks behind me made me stupid brave, I guess, so I confronted Karofsky about what he'd been doing.  We were alone, which was _so_ stupid of me, but I was just so angry..."  Kurt trailed off, and seemed to have difficulty continuing.

"What happened, Kurt?" Sebastian prodded gently.

"I was screaming at him, and it just, it seemed like it came out of nowhere, but he grabbed me.  And he kissed me."  Kurt looked down, ashamed.

"What the fuck?  When did this happen?" demanded Sebastian.

"Today.  I was so messed up, that's why I drove all the way out here on a weeknight."

"I am never letting that goddamn caveman near you again.  Talking about criminal charges, that's sexual assault.  He should be in jail."

"I told you, Sebastian," Kurt said softly, "that's not happening."

"Why the fuck not?" Sebastian demanded angrily.  "You have _nothing_ to be ashamed of.  What happened isn't your fault."

"Even with everything he did, I can't do that to Karofsky," Kurt answered.

"Again, I ask why the fuck not."

"I could never out someone," Kurt said.

"He lost his place in the 'gay community'" Sebastian began sarcastically, "the second he assaulted you.  You don't owe him _anything_."

"I don't... I can't talk about this anymore," Kurt said.  He seemed to suddenly deflate, his proud posture slumping, his head bowed.

Sebastian sighed.  "We can talk about it later.  Just let me hold you until you have to go."

Sebastian propped himself against the headboard of his bed and drew Kurt to him.  Kurt curled into him, leaning his head against Sebastian's chest, and cried.

 _There's no way I'm letting this go,_ Sebastian thought.   _Karofsky is going to pay for hurting Kurt._


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Homophobic bullying, the f-slur, trying to set someone on fire (no, seriously!)

Kurt stayed, nestled safe in Sebastian’s arms, until it was nearly time for ten o’clock dorm check.  At quarter to ten, he sighed regretfully and levered himself up out of bed, heading to the restroom to fix his hair.  Sebastian loved how Kurt looked when he was a little mussed, but he understood more than ever Kurt’s need to feel controlled and immaculate.

While Kurt was out of the room, Sebastian took the opportunity to sneak a look at Kurt’s cell phone contacts, typing a number into his own phone to call when Kurt left.

Holding Kurt close, pressing a firm kiss to first one cheek, then the other, then his forehead, Sebastian gave Kurt a final squeeze before reluctantly releasing him to head home.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay, sweetheart?  It would be easy to hide you from the dorm monitors, and I’m sure Cameron wouldn’t mind,” Sebastian pleaded with wide eyes.  He wasn’t looking forward to letting Kurt out of his sight.

“I’m going to miss my curfew as it is,” Kurt sighed.  “I usually try to avoid giving my dad any more heart attacks, and if I don’t come home at all he’ll freak.”

“Drive safe,” Sebastian offered in a low, broken voice.   _As if automotive safety is his biggest problem right now_ , Sebastian thought angrily.

“Always,” Kurt said, kissing Sebastian softly before heading out.

Sebastian popped his head out of his room briefly for curfew check, but ignored the attempts at conversation from his friends and dormmates, heading back into his room and throwing himself down on the bed.  He sent a text to the number he’d pulled from Kurt’s phone, and when his phone chimed in reply, he was quick to hit the “call” button.

“What the fuck is going on at that school?” Sebastian near-growled into the phone.

“Hello to you, too.  I can hardly believe you’re the boy who kissed my hand the day we met,” came the reply.

“Not now, Quinn.  I thought the whole point of your girl gang was that no one messed with you.”

“Did something else happen to Kurt?  We’ve been working on Karofsky, but he’s seriously deranged, it’s like he’s not even scared of us.”

“Clearly,” Sebastian hissed through clenched teeth.  “Yes, something happened to Kurt.  I didn’t even know he was having this kind of trouble again until tonight.”

“Then you’re not much of a boyfriend, are you?” Quinn offered flippantly.

“I’m just not _there_!” Sebastian near-shouted into the phone.  “If he wants to hide this stuff from me it’s not like I can _make_ him tell me, and I’m not there to see it.  But you are!  I thought you were supposed to be his friend.”

“I told Kurt to lay low under the bleachers for a few days.  Karofsky’s fucking scary, but the Mack was going to set his letterman jacket on fire tomorrow.  Thought that’d make him back off.”

“I fucking hope so.  Never tell Kurt I told you this, but he’s seriously terrified.  He needs you,” Sebastian said.

Quinn was quiet for a moment, then sighed.  “Kurt knows me better than any of the Skanks, and cares more about me than anyone else who was in glee or on the Cheerios with me.  He’s my best friend.  I’m gonna do what has to be done.”

Sebastian’s anger ebbed, replaced by heavy hopelessness.  “I’m just really worried about him, Quinn.”

“I know.”

“I need to do something to help.  What can I do?”

“I don’t know,” Quinn replied.  “Let me talk to the other Skanks, try the jacket thing tomorrow… I’ll let you know.”

Sebastian was struck with sudden conviction.  “I’m coming to McKinley tomorrow.  I’ll skip my afternoon and get there for the end of the day.  I need to see this for myself.”

Quinn made an approving noise.  “You have my number.  Text me when you get here.”

“Will do.  See you tomorrow, Quinn.”

“See you, Sebastian.  I’m sorry I said that you weren’t much of a boyfriend.”

“I haven’t been,” Sebastian conceded.  “I should have known something was going on before now.”

“Kurt’s a pretty closed-off guy.  I doubt I’d know what was going down if I hadn’t seen it for myself.  Just, keep being there for him.”

“Always,” Sebastian affirmed.  He wasn’t going to let anyone hurt Kurt.

* * *

Sebastian felt antsy all through his morning classes, but managed to hold out until after lunch.  As he got in his car, before setting out for Lima, he fired off a text.

> **To Quinn** : On my way.  There in ~90min.
> 
> **From Quinn** : text me when you get here. it’s going down after classes.

He couldn’t settle on a playlist or radio station, skipping through songs and stations until he finally gave up and turned the stereo off.  When he finally arrived at McKinley, his Porsche stood out in a parking lot full of beat-up trucks and sedans.  Kurt’s Navigator would have been out of place, too, but Sebastian didn’t see it.  Quinn hadn’t mentioned him being absent, so Sebastian supposed he’d caught a ride with his stepbrother or one of the Skanks.

Sebastian had never been to McKinley before, but it was easy to spot the football field and associated bleachers, where he knew that Kurt and the Skanks hung out when cutting class.  He texted Quinn.

> **To Quinn** : Here. Meet you?
> 
> **From Quinn** : you in the parking lot? sec.

After an affirmative reply and a few minutes of tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, Sebastian saw Quinn appear at his window, and he stepped out of the car.

Quinn let out a low whistle.  “Nice ride,” she observed.

“Thanks, I guess,” Sebastian replied, his hands in his pockets.

“Antsy, I get it,” Quinn said, pulling a crushed pack of cigarettes from the pocket of her shredded skinny jeans, plucking one out and slotting it between her lips.  She gestured questioningly at Sebastian with the pack, and he shook his head.  “Okay, then,” she said around the cigarette as she lit it.  “Come with me.”

Sebastian trailed obediently after Quinn, who circled wide around the football field to enter the gym by its exterior doors.

“Class is almost done,” Quinn explained.  “The Mack is going to do it outside the locker room.  I thought you’d want to watch.”

“Definitely,” Sebastian replied emphatically.

“Dark.  That’s hot,” Quinn said, quirking one eyebrow.

Sebastian ignored her, and they passed through the gym to an adjacent hallway.  When they entered, Kurt was leaning against a row of lockers trying to project studied unconcern, but Sebastian could see the tension evident in his posture.  Nearby, a brunette clad in grungy attire similar to Quinn’s was fiddling with something that Sebastian couldn’t see.  A bulky boy in a letterman jacket loomed, seeming not to notice the girl, and spoke to Kurt quietly.

“Karofksy,” Quinn whispered in explanation.

“This him?” Karofsky asked in a louder tone, indicating Sebastian as he approached with Quinn, unfamiliar and clad in his Dalton uniform.  Sebastian spotted Kurt’s friend Rachel shutting her locker nearby.  She started to head off down the hallway, but seemed to think better of it, pausing close enough to observe the spectacle.

Sebastian saw the brunette girl step swiftly back, and then smoke was spiraling up from the edge of Karofsky’s jacket.  He jumped, then batted at it to no great effect, but it didn’t catch.

“What were you going for, Mack?” Kurt drawled, shooting a glance at the girl.  “Wool and leather are both pretty flame-retardant.”

“Well, how the fuck am I supposed to know that?” she fired back, flicking the spent match into an adjacent trashcan.

Karofsky looked between Mack and Kurt with wide eyes.  “Did you just try to set me on _fire_?” he asked hysterically.

“You had it coming,” Quinn offered.

“And you,” Kurt said sharply, turning on Quinn and Sebastian.  “What did you bring him here for?”  Kurt wrapped his arms tight around his body, defensive.

“I was worried about you.  I had to do something,” Sebastian said.  He knew that Kurt was overwhelmed, but he hadn’t expected this kind of reaction from his boyfriend.  Karofsky’s glare was easier to predict, but at the moment Sebastian only had eyes for Kurt.

“I can take care of myself, Sebastian!” Kurt retorted angrily.

The end of Kurt’s response was drowned out by a piercing, persistent ringing.  “Fire alarm!” Quinn called, and Sebastian spotted heavy smoke emanating from the trashcan where Mack had tossed her match.  The confused, angry group of them followed Quinn to the nearest exit, continuing to yell at each other.

“When are you going to get that you don’t have to do everything alone?” Sebastian yelled.  “Your dad wants to help you, your friends want to help you, _I_ want to fucking help you, Kurt!”

“I don’t need your _help_ ,” Kurt hissed.  “I need you to respect my choices and trust that I know what I’m doing.”

“I want to, Kurt, I really do,” Sebastian replied,  “but when your safety’s at stake, that’s my priority.  I love you!  And you can yell at me, or break up with me, even hate me as long as you’re safe.”

“I can’t believe you - wait, what?” 

“As long as you’re safe -” Sebastian began.

“No, before that,” Kurt interrupted.

“...your safety is my priority?” Sebastian asked.

“After that,” Kurt prompted.

“I… love you?”

“Question, or statement?” Kurt asked, and all of the sudden he was looking at Sebastian like a bug under glass, a fascinating specimen, his anger dissipated.

“Statement?” Sebastian offered hesitantly.

“See, that still sounded like a question,” Kurt argued.

“Well, the thing is… I didn’t mean to just blurt it out like that,” Sebastian blushed.

“But you do?  Love me?” Kurt prompted.

“Obviously I do,” Sebastian replied, picking up steam again.  “Because I have to tell you, you’re kind of being a dick right now when I’m just trying to help you.  And I’m not really a helpful person!  If I didn’t love you, I’d be gone.”

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing that you do, then,” Kurt teased back, trying not to smile.

It was in that moment that Sebastian remembered that they were on the McKinley High football field in the midst of a fire evacuation, surrounded by Karofsky, the Skanks (or at least two of them), and Rachel Berry.  Rachel Berry, who proceeded to tut at Kurt and Quinn in a high-pitched voice.

“I can’t believe you two are associating with,” Rachel paused to look around for teachers, then concluded in a theatrical hiss, “ _arsonists_!”

“Just the one, really,” Quinn replied, deadpan.  Then, shooting a look at Karofsky looming awkwardly nearby, she added, “for now.”

Karofsky bristled.  “Whatever.  I’m not scared of a couple of fags and a bunch of girls.  Maybe if you’d actually managed to set me on fire.  Enjoy your lovefest while you can, homos,” he said, and then stomped off.

“That was… ominous,” Kurt said.

“Listen, Kurt,” Sebastian said firmly, taking Kurt by the shoulders.  “You’re not obligated to tell the whole story.  In fact, it’s probably better to engage in some creative prevarication, since your friend just tried to set Karofsky on fire.  But I swear to you, with my dad’s help we can get this asshole kicked out.”

“You know I tried that before, Bas,” Kurt argued.

“All respect to you and your family’s efforts, but my dad is the state’s attorney.  When he threatens legal action, people _listen_.  And in my experience, it doesn’t take a full court case, it just takes a credible threat,” Sebastian replied.

Kurt looked searchingly at Sebastian, then took a deep breath.  “Okay.”

“Okay?” Sebastian confirmed, eyes wide.

“Okay.  We can at least talk to your dad about it and see what he says,” Kurt agreed.

“Thank you!” Sebastian exclaimed, then pulled Kurt into a tight hug.  Kurt squirmed for a moment before settling, moving to rest his head on Sebastian’s shoulder.

“I love you, too,” Kurt said softly.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Canon events haven’t, up to this point, made much of an appearance, but they’re going to come up in this chapter. So this note is to remind readers that Mercedes, Santana, and Brittany are currently members of the Troubletones and not the New Directions. Storylines that don’t directly involve Kurt, Blaine, and/or Quinn have been taking place in this ‘verse as in canon.

Firefighters soon arrived to check out the alarm, and put out the trashcan fire the Mack had started.  When the students were cleared to leave or to return to their extracurricular activities, Sebastian took Kurt’s hand.

“So, is it time for the grand tour?” he asked.

Kurt snorted.  “Nothing grand about McKinley,” he fired back.  “But since you’re here and all, I’d be happy to show you the couch under the bleachers,” he added with a wink.

Sebastian smiled and let himself be led.  The space under the McKinley High bleachers was quite grungy, and even with Kurt’s bad boy image, Sebastian found it difficult to imagine his meticulous boyfriend spending much time there.  Then, though, Kurt pulled a cozy plaid blanket out from a bundled-up tarp that was tucked away in a corner.  He smoothed the blanket over the couch, and the scent of mildew was replaced by clean, albeit musty, wool.

“Pretty nice setup you’ve got here, considering,” Sebastian mused.

“Well, this is Ohio.  We do have to make allowances for, you know, _weather_ ,” Kurt laughed, then turned serious.  “And sometimes one of the girls wants to get out of her house for the night or whatever, and it’s not perfect, but…”

“Did you do this?” Sebastian asked.  “The couch, and the tarp, and the blanket?”

“Some of it,” Kurt allowed.  “The couch was actually Quinn, though.  She and I have it a lot better than a couple of the other Skanks in terms of, you know, home life.  We do what we can for the other girls.”

“You’re amazing,” Sebastian said, looking at Kurt with warm, shining eyes.  “With everything that’s going on with you, still trying to make this a cozy hideout for your friends.”

Kurt ducked his head shyly.  “They took me in and protected me.  I sort of felt like a little interior design was the least I could do.”

Sebastian took a slow step towards Kurt, then another, then folded Kurt into his arms.  Kurt was just a few inches shorter than him, and his chin rested against Kurt’s jaw, his nose just above Kurt’s ear, nuzzling the earrings there, making Kurt giggle.  Then Sebastian moved to nibble Kurt’s earlobe, and Kurt stepped slightly back, taking both of Sebastian’s hands in his and leading him to the couch.

Sebastian kissed Kurt, taking the lead more than he was accustomed.  But he had just realized that he _loved_ Kurt, and had _told_ Kurt so, and it was heady and dizzying and he chased the sensation of Kurt’s lips against his, of his tongue between Kurt’s lips, and teeth, and tangling with Kurt’s tongue.

He pulled Kurt against him, firm but not tight, plenty of room to take big, deep breaths before diving into each other.  Sebastian felt Kurt smile against his mouth, and pull him closer by his loosened Dalton tie.  Just as his hand went to Kurt’s fly, the boys were startled by a loud, close clanging and a low whistle.

Kurt and Sebastian leapt apart, and Sebastian’s head swiveled to where Quinn was standing, banging her fist against the metal supports holding up the bleachers.

“What the fuck, Q?” Kurt growled.  And though Sebastian knew that Kurt could be truly fierce, watching him turn the attitude on Quinn, who Sebastian knew Kurt cared about, looked more like the grumblings of an angry kitten.

“Believe me, I’m just as sorry to break _this_ up,” she said, gesturing between the two boys.  “If you’d kept going I might’ve learned something.  But Queen Berry is requesting our presence in the choir room.”

Kurt took a moment to lean into Sebastian and whisper in his ear. “Don’t stop, baby.  Maybe Quinn will _learn something_.”  Sebastian raised an eyebrow in surprise, but wasn’t the type to back down from a challenge.  He began to kiss Kurt’s neck, and felt Kurt’s cock stirring to life against him.

“Mmm,” Kurt moaned, perhaps a little exaggerated, playing chicken with Quinn.  “And why -” Sebastian stroked Kurt lightly through his jeans, “- God Bas, don’t stop - And why do I care what Rachel wants?  Ooh.”

“Jesus, Kurt, eyes on me for a sec, here?” Quinn glared.

“Sure, if that’s your kink,” Kurt muttered.

“We care because Rachel’s threatening to go to Mr. Schue and tell him what she saw in the hallway.  Knowing Figgins, that fire’s enough to get you, me, and the Mack suspended.  You know I like to skirt the line as much as the next person…”

Kurt’s hand went to Sebastian’s wrist, stilling it, and his eyes went to Quinn.  “No, I get it, Q.”  He drew back, then turned to Sebastian, explaining, “it’s one thing to cut class, as long as you keep your grades up, or to smoke on school grounds; that’s just a detention if you get caught.  But a suspension goes on your transcript, and then…”

“There go our dreams of getting out of this cow town,” concluded Quinn.

Sebastian nodded in understanding.

“Well, fuck,” stated Kurt emphatically.  He rolled his neck and shoulders, then pulled himself from the squashy couch.  He extended a hand to Sebastian.  “You coming?” he asked.

“Am I invited?” Sebastian glanced at Quinn.

“Fuck if I know,” she offered, “or care. Come on if you’re coming.”

Sebastian let Kurt pull him up off the couch, then waited while Kurt refolded the blanket and stowed it away.  Both boys followed Quinn into the school, and through to the choir room.

Looking around, Sebastian saw that McKinley’s glee club, the New Directions, was made up of the friends Kurt had brought to his homecoming party, although minus Mercedes, Santana, and Brittany, and with the addition of two boys that Sebastian didn’t recognize.  He saw Kurt focus in immediately on Rachel.

“You called?” Kurt asked Rachel, his voice clear and cutting.

“Kurt, Quinn, I’m glad you’re here,” Rachel said, deliberately firm.

“Hey Sebastian!” Finn waved from the side before Rachel silenced him with a look.  Still, Sebastian smiled back.

“The New Directions have all agreed -” Rachel began, but Kurt interrupted.

“Sam!” Kurt exclaimed, catching sight of one of the boys that Sebastian hadn’t recognized.  Sebastian could see the surprised pleasure on Kurt’s face, and he was shocked to see Kurt so open with his feelings.  Glancing at Quinn, Sebastian saw an expression of surprise there, too.

“Hey, man.”  The blond boy smiled at Kurt, sweet and genuine, and Sebastian bristled, stepping closer to Kurt and slipping an arm around his waist.  Kurt glanced at him, giving him a quizzical look at his sudden possessiveness.  Sam only seemed to smile wider - and that was quite wide, since the boy had an enormous mouth.  Sebastian didn’t know how Kurt knew him, but with the enthusiasm of their greetings, he could only hope that Sam’s enormous mouth had never been anywhere near Kurt.  

“What are you doing here?” Kurt asked the boy.

“I’m transferring back!” replied Sam.

“I thought you moved to Tennessee or something,” Kurt said, forehead wrinkled.

“Kentucky, actually,” Sam replied, “but I can’t believe Finn didn’t say anything to you.”

“Finn knew you were moving back?” Kurt asked quizzically.

“Actually, I’m staying with you and Finn.  He and Rachel drove down to Kentucky to convince my family to let me finish out high school at McKinley with you guys.”  Sam looked down, bashful.

“Oh, wow!” Kurt exclaimed.

Sam glanced at Finn, uncomfortable.  “I mean, as long as that’s okay…”

“I, uh - My dad said yes?” Kurt looked to Finn, who nodded emphatically.

“Sorry, bro, it was all kind of spur of the moment, and I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t find you anywhere,” Finn offered bashfully.

“No, I - It’s awesome.  I’m excited!” Kurt smiled.  “Is this why Rachel called us in here?”

The room turned its attention to Rachel, who stomped her foot.  “No,” she said.  “I’m… happy that you’re glad to see Sam,” she smiled softly.  “But actually, we’re marshalling our talents.  I took the opportunity to call you and Quinn in to offer you a place in the New Directions.”

“Which you thought we’d accept this time because…?” Quinn asked, deadpan.  “Are you seriously blackmailing us about the fire thing?”

Rachel looked chagrined.  “No, not really,” she admitted.  “I wouldn’t.  I was actually really worried about you guys.  I saw how Karofsky was with Kurt -”

“We’re not talking about it, Rachel,” Kurt interrupted.

“Fine,” Rachel resumed.  “But we _miss_ you.  And I _am_ worried about you.  You belong back with us.”

Kurt scanned the room with an evaluative glance.  “And this doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that you’re, wow, four people short for sectionals?  Even Quinn and I won’t be enough without Mercedes, Santana, or Brittany.” 

“We can fill out the numbers with the band,” Rachel said with a dismissive wave at the students sitting among the instruments at the side of the room.  “But we need you two for more than numbers.  We need your voices, and we need your _heart_.  And I think you need us, too.”

Rachel nodded to the band members, and Sebastian noticed that at least the bassist rolled his eyes at her.   _She does seem to consider them pretty disposable_ , Sebastian thought.   _I wouldn’t be terribly pleased with her either._  Still, the musicians started to play a tune that Sebastian quickly recognized.  He could see Kurt fighting a smile when Rachel gestured for him to begin.  

_‘A solo?  For me?’_ Kurt mouthed.  Quinn smirked at him, and Sam moved to pat him briefly on the shoulder and urge, “c’mon, man.”

As the intro wound down, the smile broke out on Kurt’s face, and he began.

> _What would you do if I sang out of tune?_
> 
> _Would you stand up and walk out on me?_

He tugged on Quinn’s hand, and she continued,

> _Lend me your ears and I’ll sing you a song,_
> 
> _I will try not to sing out of key_

Rachel and Tina joined her for the chorus, singing,

> _Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends_
> 
> _Mmm, I get high with a little help from my friends_
> 
> _Mmm, gonna try with a little help from my friends_

Kurt took the lead again, and Sebastian was startled to see that Kurt directed the line to him, singing, “ _what do I do when my love is away?_ ”

Smiling, Sebastian answered, “ _does it worry you to be alone?_ ”

Kurt sang, “ _how does it feel at the end of the day?_ ” and Sebastian, taking his hand, sang to him “ _are you sad because you’re on your own?_ ”

The rest of the room joined them, then, to sing the chorus.  Next, Rachel held up a hand, telling Kurt, Quinn, and Sebastian, to let the next line be sung to them.  The New Directions asked, “ _do you need anybody?_ ” and Kurt answered, smiling at Sebastian, “ _I need somebody to love._ ”

The New Directions asked, “ _could it be anybody?_ ” and again Kurt answered “ _I want somebody to love_.”

Rachel seemed to see that Kurt and Quinn were enjoying themselves, and it looked like the song was going her way, so she directed the band through to the final chorus, and together with Kurt, Quinn, and Sebastian, the New Directions sang,

> _Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends_
> 
> _Mmm, gonna try with a little help from my friends_
> 
> _Oh, I get high with a little help from my friends_
> 
> _Yes, I get by with a little help from my friends_
> 
> _With a little help from my friends_

Sebastian was dazzled at the genuine smile on Kurt’s face, a look he rarely saw outside of their private interactions, and never in front of so many people.  God, he was beautiful.  

“Rachel, the Beatles is cheating,” Kurt admonished.

“Knowing the way to your heart isn’t cheating,” Rachel wheedled.

Sebastian watched Kurt look to Quinn, who was biting her lip.  Rachel seemed to know better than to say anything more, but she looked at Quinn with big, pleading eyes.

Sam looked to Kurt with a smile.  “C’mon, aren’t we a family?”

“Fuck,” Kurt swore softly, then stepped forward, allowing his friends to embrace him.


	18. Quinnterlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please bear with me, because this Quinterlude is needed to move the plot along, as well as being a bit of a self-indulgent exploration of my Quinn-related headcanon. We’ll be back to our regularly-scheduled heavy Kurtbastian in future chapters! This chapter contains hints of Faberry, because Quinn’s big fat crush on Rachel is my headcanon, damnit.
> 
> The dialogue you recognize is taken directly from the Glee episode “Hold On to Sixteen,” written by Ross Maxwell.

Quinn knew it was stupid, the way that Rachel’s wide, shiny brown eyes and full pout were affecting her.  After months of Rachel trying to talk her and Kurt back into Glee club, the puppy dog look wasn’t going to sway her now.  It wasn’t!

Except that Quinn shared a glance with Kurt, and saw that he was wavering.  They should have known better than to let Rachel get them all singing a group number; it was like kryptonite for glee club members, even former ones.  Especially when Kurt and Quinn had gotten solo lines, because that hadn’t happened much for either of them in the past.

Kurt submitted to a group hug, and when it was over, Quinn posed the big question.  “This is nice and everything, but do Kurt and I get competition solos?”

Kurt shot her a quick look that seemed to communicate both ‘ _jeez Quinn, we were having a moment_ ’ and ‘ _good question, though_ ’ at the same time.  It was a sort of eye roll paired with a soft smile.  He had a very expressive face.

Before Rachel would answer, though, she insisted that Sebastian leave.

“What intelligence am I gonna steal?” he protested.  “The Warblers already won our sectional!”

“We don’t need you gaining any insight into our process,” Rachel argued.  “It might give you an advantage when we face you at regionals.”

Quinn smirked at Rachel’s insistence.  It was adorable how protective she was of the New Directions.  Quinn knew that it was a product of Rachel’s experience with Jesse during her sophomore year, but from what Quinn had seen, Sebastian’s feelings for Kurt were way too genuine for anything similar to happen with them.  That was assuming that Quinn and Kurt were back in the New Directions for good - but everyone _did_ seem to be assuming that.

Once Sebastian was safely out the door, Rachel responded to Quinn’s earlier question.  “We’ve already thought this out, actually,” Rachel said.  “We have a Jackson family set planned, and we wanted you to take the spoken word intro from the beginning of Control.  Your speaking voice is very -” she broke off as her eyes met Quinn’s hot gaze, gulping audibly before finishing her thought, “- compelling.”

“And Kurt?” Quinn prompted.

“Right,” Rachel said, refocusing on the discussion.  Quinn shot her a smirk, and a wink.  Because she was a Skank now, even if she and Kurt decided to rejoin the glee club, and people expected her to be a little bad.  She might as well take advantage.  “Um, there’s a spoken word bit during ABC for Kurt, and a solo in Man in the Mirror.  We would give both of you more, but we weren’t sure we could get you back, and we didn’t want to have too much to redistribute if we couldn’t, since the competition is tomorrow afternoon.”

Quinn looked at Kurt, who was smiling the sweetest, most genuine smile she’d seen from him in months, if not longer.  The only times that even came close were when he was talking to or about Sebastian, but he was mostly quite private about his relationship, and Quinn didn’t see much of them together.   _Except under the bleachers just now, the feisty bitch_ , Quinn thought with affection.  She could tell that Kurt was sold.

“Fine,” she sighed.  Then winked at Rachel again, just because she could.

* * *

The next afternoon, their competition slot was looming.  The New Directions were putting the finishing touches on their costumes when Shelby Corcoran and the Troubletones swept into their choir-cum-dressing room.

Quinn tried to avoid seeing Shelby whenever possible.  She’d spent the entirety of her junior year trying to get back the life she’d had before her pregnancy.  Quinn was a consummate actress, as all popular girls must be.  You pretend to feel no pain, to feel no empathy for those below you, to like the things and people you were supposed to like and dislike those you weren’t.  As a freshman, and again as a junior, Quinn had done all that, carefully constructing her identity so that she never had to be Lucy again, and then so that she never had to be looked down on the way she had been when she was pregnant with Beth.  Lauren Zizes had thrown a wrench in the works when she’d revealed Quinn’s past as Lucy, but Quinn had conditioned the McKinley student body so well that rather than looking down on her, they applauded her inspiring journey.  Quinn was on track to rule the school as a senior, but her progress had been ripped away when Shelby returned to the area with Beth in tow. 

It had been much simpler for Quinn to construct her life without Beth before Beth’s _new mom_ Shelby was right in front of her, reminding her of everything she was missing out on with her daughter.  As much as Quinn tried to forget her pregnancy, in the hopes that everyone else would forget her accompanying fall from grace, she couldn’t.  She had loved Beth _so much_ for those months, even while she hated her circumstances.  As she’d explained to Mercedes at the time, caring for Beth had helped her love herself in a way that she never had before, a way she’d slipped from since.  She’d loved Beth so much - still loved her - and yet it seemed like now it meant nothing.  Now Beth had a _real_ mom now, and no one needed Quinn.

When she first started seeing Shelby around town, and especially when she’d accepted the part-time coaching gig at McKinley, Quinn had seriously considered how she might get back into Beth’s life.  She’d had doubts about Shelby’s ability to parent right after the adoption, when she’d heard some of the details about her status as Rachel’s biological mother, and how manipulative and botched her attempt to reconnect with Rachel had been.  It was Rachel herself who had reassured her, telling Quinn that Shelby’s problem with Rachel had been with _Rachel_ , a mostly grown young woman with opinions and a personality of her own, and that there was no reason that any of the issues Rachel and Shelby had should get in the way of her being an amazing mother to Beth.

So Quinn had pushed her doubts away, only to see them resurface when Shelby Corcoran was suddenly back in Quinn’s orbit.  Seeing Shelby unexpectedly like that had really messed with her head, and at first Quinn had wanted nothing more than to take Beth back from Shelby.  It was Kurt’s gentle, thoughtful support that had kept her from doing something stupid or even illegal to get her baby back.  For all of Shelby’s faults, and for as much as Quinn still loved Beth, being with Shelby was still a stable, loving environment just like what Quinn had wanted for Beth when she’d given her up for adoption.  It was still _so_ difficult, though, for Quinn to see Shelby, because seeing her invariably made Quinn think of Beth, and her love and sadness and bitter regret hit her like a punch to the gut.

Mr. Schue had already exchanged a few words with Shelby and the Troubletones when Quinn approached more closely.  

“We just came to say, may the best glee club win,” Shelby said, and though it sounded friendly enough, Quinn read arrogance into it, which was only further reinforced by what Santana said next.

“And just in case that glee club is us, I have convinced Miss Corcoran to consider a contingency plan.”

“Yes, in the event of a New Directions loss, the Troubletones has voted to allow any of you to join us at Regionals,” Shelby concluded.

Sugar added, “you’re welcome.”

Mr. Schue seemed to share Quinn’s objections.  “Excuse me,” he replied.

“This is incredibly rude, Santana” Finn agreed.

“We’re being nice,” Santana argued.  “It would be rude if I followed you around and every time you took a step I played a note on the tuba.”

“Thank you for the offer, Miss Corcoran, but right now we’re gonna concentrate on winning this thing,” Mr. Schue scrambled for a cordial reply.

“And we will be winning, Shelby.  We’ve got it in the bag,” Quinn concluded, her cold, harsh attitude at the fore.   _And like hell will you see any of us in the Troubletones_ , she thought.

* * *

Quinn killed her spoken word intro, and Kurt’s solo was amazing.  The other groups were good, but when the New Directions were on point there was nothing that came close.  The New Directions came in first place, and Kurt’s boyfriend was the first to leap to his feet for a standing ovation, with a broad grin.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am not a lawyer, but I suspect that Mr. Smythe advising Kurt as he does in this chapter, given his office, is probably a violation of legal ethics.  I think that he’s willing to do it anyway.
> 
> This chapter wraps up the meat of the the Karofsky plotline, which means that in future chapters we will back to much lower-stress sexy funtimes.
> 
> Warning: Homophobic bullying and language, including use of the f-slur.  Brief mentions of some symptoms of acute anxiety.

Christmas was fast approaching, and Sebastian was surprised to see Kurt displaying subtle touches of seasonal spirit.  The idea of Kurt, badboy and, well, atheist being excited for Christmas was adorable.  Kurt had explained, when he was ensconced warm in Sebastian’s arms and feeling relaxed, that his mother had loved the Christmas season.  Kurt in a cozy red sweater with his distressed jeans and stompy boots, or drinking a peppermint mocha instead of his usual coffee order, always made Sebastian smile.  It was nice to see Kurt feeling safe enough with Sebastian, and with his glee friends, to show these little bits of himself.

Sebastian had sweet-talked Kurt into coming over to his house in Westerville to help with the tree-trimming.  In France, Sebastian had been used to celebrating with his mother’s extended family, both those related by blood and close friends who had become like family over the years.  In Ohio, though, it was really just him and his dad; Nathaniel Smythe’s political career didn’t leave much time for making friends, and he wasn’t particularly close to his family.  Sebastian would see his aunts, uncles and cousins at Christmas Eve dinner, but not otherwise during the season.  He didn’t generally feel like he needed a lot of people around him - he was self-sufficient and appreciated his time alone - but some activities, like tree trimming, were better shared.

The boys were untangling a string of white lights, both grumbling a bit, when Sebastian’s father arrived home from the office.

“Good afternoon, Sebastian,” he greeted.  “And Kurt!  How nice to see you again.”

“Hello, Mr. Smythe,” Kurt replied, before making a soft sound of triumph as he untangled the last of the lights.

“I see you boys have already gotten started on the tree.  Can I help?”

“Sure,” Sebastian agreed.  Kurt had agreed to talk with Sebastian’s father about his legal options given the situation with Karofsky, but since then he’d been reluctant to set aside time.  Sebastian hoped that as Kurt got more comfortable with his father, he’d find it easier to talk about what was happening, and he could get the help he needed to make his school environment safe.

None of them said much as they strung the tree with lights, but Sebastian thought that Kurt seemed remarkably content.  He kissed Kurt briefly on the top of his head.

“I could go for some hot chocolate,” Sebastian said.  “I’m gonna go make us some.”

“Want a hand?” Kurt asked.

“No worries, sweetheart,” Sebastian returned.  “You look comfy where you are.”

It was true.  The lights were strung on the tree, and while Sebastian’s father spread boxes of ornaments out on the coffee table for inspection, Kurt snuggled down into the sofa with a smile of contentment, so relaxed that he looked almost sleepy in the soft, warm light.

Sebastian smiled at him, then leaned down to clasp his shoulder and press a quick kiss to his cheek.  While Kurt was lazily happy, and grounded by his affectionate touch, Sebastian considered it an opportune moment to remind Kurt of his promise.

“Maybe you could talk to my dad about school,” he whispered, before heading for the kitchen.   

He hoped that Kurt didn’t feel manipulated by the way Sebastian had purposefully given him time alone with his father.  Obviously, Kurt wasn’t _required_ to talk to him at that moment, but it was clear that Sebastian’s prodding alone wasn’t helping.  He hoped that giving Kurt time with his dad would help him feel more comfortable coming forward like they’d discussed.

Sebastian grabbed a pot from the kitchen cabinet and set it on the stove, then pulled dark chocolate and granulated sugar from another cabinet and milk from the fridge.  He whisked the sugar together with a bit of water in the pot, then added the chocolate, melting it bit by bit before whisking in the milk and letting it all heat up.  It was a complicated way to make hot chocolate compared to the instant cocoa mixes that many people preferred, but Sebastian could be a traditionalist about the important things, and that included hot beverages.  Plus, he hoped that the extra time in the kitchen was giving Kurt the opportunity to open up to his dad about the situation at his school.  Sebastian tried his best to support him, but he was feeling really out of his depth, and he knew he’d feel less knotted up with anxiety if an adult knew what was going on, too.  It was a lot for him and Kurt to carry alone.

When the hot chocolate was done, he ladled it into three mugs and linked his fingers through the handles to carry them back to the living room.  As he approached, he heard Kurt speaking softly with his father.

“...just don’t feel safe.  I’m cutting all my classes so I don’t have to see him in the hall.  My grades are going down, I’m worried about college… Sebastian said...”

“Hey, babe,” Sebastian greeted Kurt, alerting the other boy to his presence.  He handed Kurt a mug of hot chocolate, then reached over to hand one to his father as well.  He settled himself on the sofa next to Kurt and whispered in his ear: “so proud of you for telling him,” he said, squeezing Kurt’s shoulder.  

Sebastian’s father looked seriously at the two boys.  “As Attorney General, you know I work for the state of Ohio.  So in any legal battle I’d necessarily represent the interests of the district,” he said.

Kurt’s face fell, but Sebastian was quick to correct Kurt’s misapprehension.  “Dad,” Sebastian urged, “explain why that’s good.”

Mr. Smythe nodded.  “It’s good because what I understand from talking to you is that you’re not actually interested in a court case, right?” 

Kurt, biting his lip and wrinkling his forehead seriously, nodded.

“Well, from what you’ve told me, you _could_ have a fairly solid case if you wanted.  And if _I’m_ advising your school district of that, they’ll take it seriously.  They’ll be motivated to expel this other kid and make some changes to their harassment policy, so that they don’t wind up in court.”

“Oh,” Kurt breathed.  “You really think so?”

Again, Mr. Smythe nodded.  “I’ll want to go over some details with you and your parents, but yeah, I think so.  Kurt… you have a right to be safe at school.  Your district really is in the wrong here.”

Kurt snuggled into Sebastian’s side, a blush on his cheeks, his hands clasped tightly around each other, and Sebastian could tell that he was feeling anxious and exposed.  Sebastian held Kurt tight and pressed a kiss to his hair.

“Thanks, Dad,” he said softly.

“Of course, Sebastian.  I’m glad that you felt comfortable bringing this to me - and you, too, Kurt.  You boys shouldn’t have to deal with this sort of thing alone.”  Mr. Smythe’s jaw was tight, his lips set in a firm line.  Sebastian could tell that his father was angry, but at the situation, not at them.  “I’m going to go over a few things in my office.  Kurt, can I set up a time later to discuss this with you, your father, and your stepmother?”

Kurt, still feeling overwhelmed and, frankly, all talked out, nodded.

“Don’t stay up too late, boys,” Mr. Smythe advised before heading out of the room.

* * *

The Hudson-Hummels were busy over the holiday break, but Burt wanted to schedule a meeting with Sebastian’s father right away once Kurt filled him in on the basics of what had been happening at school.  This was the part Kurt had been dreading, and once he’d done it, he’d called Sebastian.  Sebastian could hear how tight his jaw was in the sound of his voice when he spoke.

“I hate seeing my dad like that, Bas,” Kurt said.  “I mean, you’ve met him, he’s this big tough guy, and he just looked so _bereft_.  I heard him telling Carole that he felt like he’d failed me.”

“I know you want to protect your dad, sweetheart, but I’ll guarantee that he feels the same way about you.  I say this as someone else who cares about you.  Knowing that you were going through something like that, and that you felt like you couldn’t share it, like you had to go through it alone… It really hurts,” Sebastian explained.

“I was trying to _keep_ anyone else from getting hurt,” Kurt hissed out, frustrated.

“I know, and your dad knows, too.  I bet he’s glad that we have something concrete to do about it, though,” Sebastian guessed.

“Yeah.  I mean, besides yelling at Finn for not having my back,” Kurt let out a short, humorless laugh.

“Well, that _is_ something to do, but not exactly a solution… Will he and Carole have time to talk with my dad over the winter break?” Sebastian asked.

“Yeah, he’s chomping at the bit.  Is your dad available this week?”

* * *

Mr. Smythe was able to meet with Principal Figgins, as well as the district superintendent and the president of the school board, on the Tuesday following winter break.  He’d called Sebastian at school to let him know that the meeting was coming, and by afternoon Sebastian was checking his phone obsessively as he waited to hear from either his father or Kurt.

He had his phone in hand under his desk during European History when Nick elbowed him.  “Put that away before Mrs. Freidlund sees!” Nick hissed.  “If she takes it away, you won’t get it back before the end of the day.”

Sebastian hadn’t told any of his friends what was going on, knowing that Kurt hoped to keep it as private as possible.  He glanced quickly at the teacher, who was turned mostly away from the class, using a pointer to illustrate the progression of the Central Powers in WWI across a map of 1915 Europe that was pulled down over the whiteboard.  He switched the phone to its quietest vibrate setting and slipped it into his pocket.  Mrs. Freidlund had caught students with vibrating phones in class before - the woman had ears like a bat - but Sebastian hoped that the low setting would be too quiet to hear but enough for Sebastian to feel against his leg.  He was definitely paying more attention to his phone than he was to the Kaiser’s armies.

The class seemed to drag on forever, until Sebastian felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.  It was the short vibration of a text message, rather than the longer one that would accompany a phone call, and after a glance at the front of the class he slid his phone out of his pocket to check it.  There was a text message from Kurt, reading simply: _Call me?_

Immediately, Sebastian raised his hand.  Mrs. Freidlund looked startled - this wasn’t a point in her lecture when she anticipated questions.  Still, she called on him.  “Yes, Sebastian?”

“May I use the restroom?” he asked, tapping his foot impatiently.  The teacher nodded, and he rose hastily and rushed out the door, grabbing the bathroom pass on his way out.

Instead of heading to the bathroom, though, Sebastian made his way to the junior commons.  He hadn’t stopped to consider whether it would be empty, and in fact there were a couple of students there that he vaguely recognized, one laying back on the sofa with a novel, another curled up in an armchair with his phone, both presumably enjoying a free period.

“Out,” Sebastian directed.  The boy in the armchair only needed one look at Sebastian to see that he was serious, and scampered out of the room.

The boy who’d been lying on the sofa was, at second glance, a lacrosse teammate of Sebastian’s.  He arched an eyebrow.  “Seriously?”

Sebastian glared back, and the boy blinked under his intensity.  “Seriously,” Sebastian replied.  The boy shrugged, and left.  Sebastian closed the door to the common room behind him before calling Kurt.

“Hi,” Kurt answered.  “I didn’t think I’d hear from you until after school.”

“Are you kidding?” Sebastian shot back.  “I’ve been glued to my phone all day.  I snagged a bathroom pass under false pretenses and kicked two people out of the junior commons to talk to you.  What happened?”

“Your dad was here today.  He met with Figgins, and some people from the district, I guess?  I wasn’t there for that part, but afterwards Karofsky and I both got called to Figgins’s office.  And he called my dad, and Karofsky’s dad, and the people from the meeting were all still there, and I had to tell everyone what happened, and even without telling Figgins and them about the kiss it was still so uncomfortable…”

Kurt broke off, his breath coming quick and shallow.

“Deep breaths, sweetheart,” Sebastian prompted.  “I bet you did great.  What happened next?”

“Karofsky said I was making it all up, but your dad said something to Principal Figgins about how much my attendance had been affected.  He said it was like, a classic sign of a hostile school environment and that it would be easy for my family to make a case.  Then the superintendent recommended that Karofsky be expelled.  Karofsky was _really_ angry, and he started talking about how this was bullshit and I was just some fag telling lies about him because he turned me down, and he shouldn’t have to leave school when _I_ was the deviant, and his dad looked at him like he’d never seen him before.  He said something like, ‘David, the boy I raised doesn’t use that kind of language,’ and he accepted the expulsion.  Karofsky’s gone.”

“Kurt, that’s amazing!” Sebastian smiled.  The tension in his chest and shoulders, which he’d gotten so used to over the past few weeks that he’d forgotten what he felt like without it, eased.  He felt lighter, and taller, and he could only imagine how Kurt felt.

“The woman from the school board said that they were going to review the district’s bullying policies.  She wants to figure out if they need to add new language, or just work on enforcement.  But I guess bullying is a really hot topic right now, politically, and she actually seems motivated to do something good,” Kurt said.

“So this whole thing might end up making it easier for other students who are dealing with bullying like this?” Sebastian asked.

“I… I think so,” Kurt answered, a little awed.

“Kurt!” Sebastian exclaimed.  “I am so proud of you.  I know it was really hard for you to talk about what happened.”

Kurt was quiet for a moment before he spoke again.  “I love you, Sebastian.  I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“I love you, too.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the egregious wait on this chapter! We moved all the way from Miami back to Seattle this past month, and we're currently staying with my in-laws while we wait for our new apartment to be available... and at that point there will be even more moving! But I'm calling Fallen Angel my NaNoWriMo project, so you should be seeing a lot of progress this month. Thanks for being patient with me.

Since Kurt had rejoined his glee club and started spending more time with his old friends, Sebastian had found it more difficult to make plans with him.  He tried not to begrudge his boyfriend his busier social calendar, but he found himself really missing Kurt.  He called Kurt to make plans for the weekend, hoping that they’d be able to find a decent chunk of time to spend together.  They hadn’t gotten together during the week for ages, and even their weekend dates were shorter than Sebastian liked.

“Hey, Bas!” Kurt answered his phone, and Sebastian found himself smiling at Kurt’s sweet enthusiasm.

“Hi, babe,” Sebastian said.  “I wanted to check in on our plans for this weekend.  Do you finally have some time for me?”  He knew he was wheedling, and he hated how he sounded, but he couldn’t stop the neediness that he felt seeping out from under the confidence he liked to project.

“Do you miss me, Bas?” Kurt teased lightly.

Sebastian bristled.  “Shut up, you know I do.  It’s your fault for being so irresistible.  When I think about that night two weeks ago, in the back of your Nav -”

“ _Sebastian_!” Kurt hissed.  “Do not start that with me right now; I’m at the shop!”

Sebastian felt vindictively pleased that at least now Kurt was suffering, too.  “Are you sure, Kurt?  Because you definitely started _that_.  I was just saying goodbye to my boyfriend in the privacy necessary for us in homophobic rural Ohio.  You were the one who climbed on top of me and started unbuttoning my -”

“Sebastian!” Kurt said again, less startled this time, more scolding.  “I know what you’re trying to do, and I told you to stop.”

“I’m sorry, Kurt.  I just… I _do_ miss spending time with you.”

“I know, baby.  I miss you, too.  That’s why I cleared my whole Saturday to spend with you.  And I have _plans_ ,” Kurt said in a low, urgent tone that curled Sebastian’s toes.

“Damn, babe.  I’ll be at your place around noon?” Sebastian asked.

“Sounds great,” Kurt said, then modulated his voice back down to the tone that drove Sebastian crazy - and he was convinced that Kurt knew _exactly_ what he was doing.  “I’ll see you then.”

_Guh_.

* * *

When Sebastian arrived at Kurt’s house on Saturday, he was surprised to see Finn’s truck still in the driveway.  It looked like Burt and Carole were out, and he’d thought that he and Kurt would have the house to themselves.   _Maybe Finn and Sam are on their way out_ , he thought.

He rang the doorbell, and Sam answered.  He didn’t look like he was ready to leave; he was in sweatpants and a McKinley football tee, and barefoot.  Automatically, almost mechanically, Sebastian gave him a once-over.  He was a good-looking guy, more noticeably muscled than Sebastian, but an inch or two shorter.   _He’d still be a bit taller than Kurt, though,_ Sebastian thought.  He straightened his posture self-consciously, thinking critically about how his abdomen had softened slightly after the end of lacrosse season, now that his exercise routine consisted of the occasional run rather than near-daily training.   _Is he hotter than me?_

Sebastian realized that Sam had said something, and was waiting for Sebastian’s response.  Hoping it had been a generic greeting, Sebastian said, “hey.”

Sam gave him a bit of a look, but ushered him into the house, which annoyed Sebastian all over again.  Sebastian had been coming over since before Sam started staying there - who was _Sam_ to invite _Sebastian_ in?

“So, um, like I was was saying,” Sam said, “Kurt’s almost ready.  He should be out in a sec, if you wanna wait with us.”

Sebastian followed Sam into the living room, where Finn was sprawled on the sofa, fiddling with the remote.  He didn’t look much like he was on his way out, either.

Attempting, not entirely successfully, to cover his annoyance, Sebastian said, “I kinda thought you guys were going out today.”

Finn responded with a grunt, before clarifying, “we were supposed to do video games at Puck’s, but he’s grounded.  I mean, he’s still sneaking over, but his mom would definitely notice a bunch of dudes in his living room, so that’s why we’re doing it here.  Hey, do you and Kurt wanna play?”

Sebastian barely held back from rolling his eyes.  “Nah,” he replied instead.  “Maybe we’ll head back to mine.  I’ll ask Kurt what he thinks.”

“Ask Kurt what he thinks about what?”

Sebastian turned with a smile to the doorway where Kurt had just appeared.  “I was just thinking we might head back to Westerville to hang out, if there’s a video game thing going on here,” Sebastian said.

“You don’t wanna hang out?” Kurt asked.

Sebastian walked up to his boyfriend, crowding into his space, and spoke softly, “I’d rather hang out with you.  Alone.”

Kurt smiled, and glanced over at where his stepbrother and housemate were flipping through their combined video game collections.  “Why don’t we just spend an hour with the guys?  It’s such a long drive back to Westerville, and you just got here.  Once they’re are absorbed in their games, it’ll be easy enough to sneak off to my room.  Just an hour with the guys, rather than an hour and a half driving back to your house.”

Kurt’s long, slim fingers brushed lightly at the bone of Sebastian’s wrist, and Sebastian felt the touch sparking his nerve endings, stoking the beginnings of arousal in his belly.  A shorter wait before being alone with his gorgeous boyfriend seemed like the only choice.

“Sure, Kurt,” Sebastian murmured, seeming slightly dazed.

Kurt laughed lightly, musically, and smiled before leaning in to whisper hotly in Sebastian's ear. “Impatient, baby?” he asked.

Sebastian’s eyelids fluttered shut, and he let out a held breath.  When he opened his eyes again it was to look directly into Kurt’s eyes, a dark blue-gray.  “No one could blame me,” he said, with feeling.

Kurt laughed again, and glanced over at Finn and Sam, absorbed in their own conversation, before he grabbed Sebastian by the front of his jacket and pulled him in for a brief, searing kiss.  “To tide you over,” Kurt said.

* * *

It wasn’t long before Puck arrived, with Mike and Artie in tow.  A houseful of rowdy boys competing with him for Kurt’s attention wasn’t quite the afternoon he’d envisioned, but he tried to concentrate on Kurt’s promise that after an hour, the two of them would be able to sneak off for some time alone.  With that in mind, he thought that he might be able to relax and enjoy an hour with Kurt’s friends.  He _was_ pretty kick-ass at most video games.

Everyone seated themselves in the living room, all seeming quite at home, and Sebastian inexplicably found himself across the room from Kurt.  Sebastian had claimed the far end of the sectional where it reclined, letting him stretch out and put up his feet.  Kurt wasn’t sitting on the sectional at all; instead, he was sitting in front of one of the couches and just to the side, so that he was leaning against Sam’s legs.  Sebastian saw him elbow Sam playfully in the calf, trying to nudge his legs and feet off of the coffee table.  Sam smiled, ruffled Kurt’s hair, and put his feet back on the floor.  Sebastian expected a minor explosion - he’d never seen Kurt’s hair less than immaculate in public - but Kurt just rolled his eyes at Sam and ran his fingers quickly through his hair, resulting in somewhat intentional-looking bedhead.

There weren’t enough controllers for everyone, so the boys took turns playing.  Sebastian didn’t clamor for a controller when someone died; instead, he watched Kurt interacting with the group.  Finn, Sam, Puck, and Artie played the first round, and when Puck died he handed his controller right to Kurt.  Kurt didn’t play particularly well at first, but as Puck and Mike kibitzed, he seemed to get the hang of the game, and he was soon killing off enemies with the other guys.  

Sebastian fidgeted as he watched Kurt concentrate on the screen, biting his lip, worrying it between his teeth.  Sebastian’s mind went to images of Kurt focusing in on him in the same way, of Kurt taking Sebastian’s lip between his teeth…

His train of thought was cut off abruptly as one of the boys made a kill and they all slapped each other on the back.  Sam put his arm around Kurt for a brief, one-armed hug.  Sebastian narrowed his eyes.  With a sigh, he extricated himself from the sofa.

He made his way to the kitchen and started rummaging for the fridge for a pop.  He pulled out a can of Coke and opened it, then leaned against the counter while he sipped from it.

Sebastian was frustrated.  He didn’t particularly like most of Kurt’s friends, with the possible exception of Quinn.  They hadn’t been there for him when he was being bullied; they seemed content to call themselves his friends while doing nothing to earn the title.  Then there was Sam, who was a different sort of problem entirely.  Sebastian didn’t like the way he interacted with Kurt - so relaxed and playful - or the way Kurt responded.  Kurt was usually such a buttoned-up person, and Sebastian was used to being the only one that he relaxed for.  He took another long sip of Coke as he contemplated.

He heard a noise at the doorway to the kitchen, and looked up to see Kurt entering.

“I looked up and noticed that you’d gone, so I let Mike take over and came looking for you,” Kurt explained.

“Took you a couple minutes, didn’t it?” Sebastian grumbled.

“Well you didn’t _say_ anything, Bas,” Kurt replied.

“I shouldn’t have to,” Sebastian argued.  “We were supposed to be spending time together today.  If I’d known I was walking into a brofest, I wouldn't have bothered making the drive.”

“We’re still hanging out!  I didn’t realize it only counted as ‘spending time together’ when we’re fucking!” Kurt spat.

“It’s like you’re misunderstanding me on purpose,” Sebastian sighed.  “It only counts as spending time together when you pay any attention to me whatsoever.”

“We were gonna go up to my room after an hour.  You seriously can’t last a single hour spending time with my friends?” Kurt asked, visibly annoyed.  He threw his head back and closed his eyes, massaging his temples.

“I didn’t realize you liked them all so much.  That’s not what you said at my homecoming party.  I remember you called them entitled and said you weren’t sure if they were really your friends at all.  Or is it just Sam that you want to hang out with?”

“What is _that_ supposed to mean?” Kurt demanded, his eyes snapping open and straight to Sebastian’s.

“Is he your ‘friend,’ too, Kurt?  I saw him hug you earlier.  You didn’t even yell at him when he messed up your hair.  What is going on with you and him?” Sebastian asked.

“Nothing!  God forbid a straight boy treat me like a human being.  The only difference you’re seeing between how I am with him and how I am with the other guys it that Sam doesn’t act like my sexuality is contagious!”

“I don’t like the way you look at him,” Sebastian grumbled.

Kurt sighed, then said, “I have always been different.  It’s not the same for you - you’re a jock, you don’t come across as femme at all, but me… Other kids have been calling me gay since before any of us really knew what it meant, and I have _never_ had the chance to interact with other guys without my sexuality mattering, except for Sam,” he explained.  “From the first day I met him, he never cared about me being gay.  The other guys have come a long way in terms of how they treat me, but Sam didn’t have a long way to go.  He was already there.   _That’s_ why I’m so comfortable with him.  And that’s _all_.”

Sebastian felt like a jerk.  He and Kurt were both gay teens, but the ways in which their sexuality had affected their lives had been very different.  Sebastian might not have ever hidden his sexuality, but Kurt _couldn’t_.  And Sebastian, bouncing around expensive private schools in Europe and the U.S., had never had to put up with the kind of pervasive bullying Kurt had experienced.  It had never occurred to Sebastian what a person like Sam could mean in Kurt’s life, and he realized how petty and selfish he’d been about their friendship.

Kurt was looking at Sebastian apprehensively, as if he was afraid of how Sebastian would react to what he’d said, and Sebastian just felt worse.   _God, I suck.  He should be looking at me like the dirt on his designer shoes, not like I’m about to break his heart_ , Sebastian thought.

Sebastian took a step towards Kurt, and Kurt held his ground but looked as if it was an effort for him to do so.  Sebastian took Kurt’s hand, and looked right into his eyes, sparkling with suppressed moisture.  “I am so sorry, Kurt,” he said.  Kurt’s brow wrinkled, his eyes widening in surprise as Sebastian ran his thumb over Kurt’s cheek.  Sebastian continued, “you should absolutely be friends with Sam.  I was jealous, and petty, and it was unfair.  I’m glad you have other people looking out for you.”

“Really?” Kurt responded.  He had taken his hand back from Sebastian, and was twisting his hands and wrists together nervously.  “Just like that?  You seemed so mad.”

“I was mad,” Sebastian explained, “but I was being unreasonable, and when I took ten seconds to listen to you everything made sense and I wasn’t mad anymore.”

Kurt smiled.  Taking a step forward towards Sebastian, he slung his arms low around the other boy’s waist, and rested his head against Sebastian’s chest.  Sebastian’s arms moved to circle Kurt’s shoulders, pulling him closer. 

“I don’t suppose it counts as spending an hour with the guys if we spent 15 minutes of it arguing alone in the kitchen?” Sebastian asked softly, in Kurt’s ear.

“Not really,” Kurt said.  “But I’m going to pretend that it does, because I feel really close to you after sharing all of that, and I think this is the kind of situation in which a couple usually has awesome makeup sex.”

Kurt stepped back with a smirk, then headed for the door.  Sebastian was quick to follow.

* * *

Sebastian hadn’t spent a lot of time in Kurt’s bedroom.  Of the two of them, Sebastian was far less supervised at home, not to mention his room at school, and this was the first time Sebastian had ever been to Kurt’s house without parents around.  He shut the door behind them with a triumphant grin.

“Pleased to finally have me all to yourself?” Kurt asked.

“You have no idea,” Sebastian replied.  He had Kurt by the hand, and together they made their way to Kurt’s big bed, which was elaborate with a duvet and numerous pillows.  Sebastian pulled Kurt down onto the bed.  “Cozy,” he remarked with a smile.

Kurt crawled up along Sebastian’s body, coming to rest on top of Sebastian, with his knees bracketing Sebastian’s legs.  Sebastian reclined against the well-cushioned headboard, a smirk on his face as he contemplated his boyfriend.

Kurt took Sebastian’s face between his hands, and pulled him in for a deep kiss.  Sebastian ran his fingers along Kurt’s sides, coming to rest on his trim waist.  Kurt moved his hands to run through Sebastian’s hair, gripping firmly when Sebastian’s tongue tangled with his in a particularly arousing way.  Both boys moved their hips, undulating together, until Kurt pulled back with a groan.

“Mmm, shirt off, Bas,” he directed.

Sebastian didn’t hesitate to pull his long-sleeved tee over his head, leaving his torso bare.  He watched greedily as Kurt stripped off first his black cardigan, the tight, short-sleeved button-up shirt that he wore underneath, then the tank-style undershirt that remained.

“Do you wear all those layers just to tease me?” Sebastian asked, moving to nuzzle at Kurt’s chest where it was finally bare, his nose brushing against the light, sparse hairs there.

Kurt laughed, pushing insistently at Sebastian’s shoulders until he laid back on the bed, then moved to kiss Sebastian’s neck, then down his chest, licking then nibbling lightly on a nipple.  Sebastian’s hips bucked up off the bed, and Kurt laughed again, lightly, before directing his hands down to Sebastian’s waistband, unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans.  Sebastian waited with barely controlled impatience, biting his lip as Kurt eased Sebastian’s jeans and underwear down over his hips and thighs.

Kurt seemed to tire of teasing Sebastian, then, and moved straight to Sebastian’s straining erection, taking the head into his mouth.  Sebastian groaned.  Kurt worked him over with passionate attention, relaxing his throat to take Sebastian deeper, then pulling back to lavish Sebastian’s cock with firm licks, and swirling his tongue around the head.  Sebastian clenched spasmodically at Kurt’s shoulders, urging him on as arousal coiled tightly in his belly.

“God _damn_ , Kurt!” Sebastian groaned.  Kurt pulled off briefly to shoot him a satisfied smile before going back to driving him crazy.

Kurt insinuated a hand between Sebastian’s legs, cupping and stroking his balls as he sucked, and finally Sebastian moaned, and bucked his hips, and came, spilling down Kurt’s throat.

Kurt swallowed and smiled, and the boys climbed under the bedclothes together.

“So that’s makeup sex,” Kurt remarked from where he lay on his side, snuggled up against Sebastian, his chin hooked over the other boy’s shoulder.  “It was fun, I like it.”

“Me too,” Sebastian smiled.  “How about next time you be the one to get mad at me?  I think it’s your turn.”

“I don’t think that’ll work,” Kurt countered lazily.  “I think our next fight’s gonna be when New Directions kicks Warbler butt at Regionals.”

“No, that’s fine,” Sebastian replied.  “Warblers will kick _your_ butts, and you’ll be pissed.  I bet you’re a sore loser.”

“You’ll never find out, Smythe, ‘cause we’re not gonna lose,” said Kurt.

 


	21. Chapter 21

Sebastian was at his desk, searching desperately for a distraction from his dreaded pre-calc problem set, when his phone rang, and he breathed a sigh of relief.  He smiled when he checked the caller ID and saw that it was Kurt.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he answered.

“Sebastian, oh my God, you will never believe what is going on,” Kurt said in a rush.

“I frequently find myself struggling with disbelief over the antics of your glee club.  Care to specify?” Sebastian quipped.

Kurt sucked in a deep breath, loud enough for Sebastian to hear through the phone, then paused dramatically before replying, “Finn asked Rachel to marry him!”

“What?”

“And she said _yes_!” Kurt concluded, pleased to be sharing such juicy gossip.

“No way!” said Sebastian.  “How long have they been together?”

“This time around?  Like 8 months,” Kurt replied.  “If you count the times they dated sophomore and junior years, it’s like a year and a couple of months, total.”

“Wait, how many times have they broken up and gotten back together?” Sebastian asked.  His parents were _divorced_ , and even they seemed more functional.  

“Um, twice, I guess.  Then there was some emotional entanglement before they started dating, back when Finn was still seeing Quinn, so if you count that -”

“Wait, your stepbrother dated Quinn?” Sebastian asked, confused.

“Back before she had pink hair, and before he was my stepbrother, but yes,” Kurt replied.

“And they broke up because he was into Rachel?” Sebastian wondered.

“No, they broke up because she lied about him being the father of her baby,” said Kurt.

“Her - wait, what?”  Sebastian was quickly realizing how little he knew about Kurt’s friend group.

“It was really Puck, though.  He and Finn got into a huge fight, and Quinn got kicked off the Cheerios.  She was head cheerleader before that.”

“As a sophomore?” Sebastian wondered.

“She was all set to rule the school.  She’s been making noise lately about rejoining the Cheerios, but I don’t think Coach Sue’s gonna go for it,” Kurt mused.

“Do you think Finn and Rachel will actually get married?” Sebastian asked, circling back to their original subject.

“Hell no,” Kurt replied emphatically.

“What’d you figure - they have a mature discussion and decide to call it off, or there’s a huge blowup, and/or someone gets left at the altar?” Sebastian mused.

“Huge blowup, or left at the altar.  I think it’s still too soon to call,” Kurt said.

“Have they set a date yet?” Sebastian asked.

“No,” replied Kurt, “but I know they want to do it before fall.  I don’t know _where_ they think they’ll be able to get married, if that’s their time frame.  I hope they have their hearts set on a cute little backyard thing, because that’s the only venue that’s not already booked, I’m sure.”

“Dare I ask how you know so much about weddings?” Sebastian teased.

Kurt was quiet for a moment before answering.  “You’ll laugh, I’m sure, but I’m actually kind of an enthusiast.  I planned my dad’s wedding to Carole on short notice, and it was gorgeous.  I have binders.”

“Doesn’t it bother you that we couldn’t get married in Ohio?” Sebastian asked, before realizing what he’d said and backtracking immediately.  “I didn’t mean to each other, I just - uh, as gay men…”

“Take a breath, Bas,” Kurt laughed his lovely, musical chuckle.  “I know what you meant.  And you know, I think part of my thing for weddings is that sort of longing for this beautiful, magical thing that I can’t have.  Like, if I’m involved enough in someone else’s, maybe it will make up for the fact that it’ll never be me up there.  But, I don’t know, things _are_ changing…”

“I think by the time we’re old enough to get married - I mean, not weird teen married like Finn and Rachel, but like, in five years - I really think things will be different,” Sebastian said.

“That’s a nice thought,” Kurt said, and Sebastian could hear the smile in his voice.

* * *

Regionals were fast approaching, and the Warblers had jokingly suggested that Sebastian pump Kurt for information on the New Directions’ plans for their set.  Sebastian, of course, had seen this as an opportunity to engage Kurt in some sexy rival spies roleplay.

“You won’t trick me into revealing anything, Smythe,” Kurt said.  He and Sebastian had been studying together, their books spread out over the floor of Sebastian’s bedroom at his dad’s house, when Sebastian had gotten bored and decided to see what he could get out of Kurt.

“Maybe not any _information_ ,” Sebastian replied.  He shifted from his sitting position to stalk across to Kurt on all fours.  “But I’m sure I can get you to reveal something,” he said, whispering the final word directly in Kurt’s ear.

Kurt giggled.  “Bas, your lines are _terrible_!”

“Damnit, Kurt, you’re breaking my immersion,” Sebastian pouted, while Kurt continued to laugh.

“You’re completely unsubtle,” Kurt chastised.

“Maybe it would work better when we’re post-coital and you’re all blissed out,” Sebastian mused.

“I am completely without ulterior motives in suggesting that you try that approach,” Kurt said.

With a smile, Sebastian moved in to kiss Kurt, slow and sweet.  Kurt raised both hands to cup Sebastian’s face, and ran his tongue slowly over Sebastian’s lower lip before slipping it into his boyfriend’s mouth.  He stroked his thumb over Sebastian’s cheek, then let go of his face to grab him by the waist, pulling their bodies closer together.  Sebastian smiled against him before pulling back, and Kurt whined unconsciously before stopping himself.

“Patience, darling,” Sebastian said, in imitation of what Kurt had told him so many times as he directed their lovemaking, keeping their pace slow and Sebastian on edge.   _This time_ , Sebastian thought, _Kurt will be the one on edge_.

As Kurt watched with ill-concealed impatience, Sebastian pushed Kurt’s sweater back off his shoulders, and pulled his shirt from where it was tucked into his waistband.  He did all of this with deliberate slowness, running his fingers lightly along Kurt’s skin, delighting when he felt Kurt shudder at his touch.

Kurt grabbed his wrists, directing his hands in a non-verbal urging to _get on with it, already_ , but Sebastian had been teased enough by Kurt that he knew how it worked to heighten the experience.  He nipped at Kurt’s neck, ignoring Kurt’s pull on his hands until the other boy gave up, throwing his head back with a sigh.

Sebastian rose, then, pulling Kurt with him, and pulled back the covers of the bed in invitation.  When Kurt sat, Sebastian pushed him back against the headboard before sitting alongside him, his fingers going to work on Kurt’s belt and the fastenings of his jeans.

When Kurt’s cock was bared before him, Sebastian saw that his boyfriend was hard, and he licked his lips in anticipation.  Watching him, Kurt let out a groan of arousal.

“Bas, God!” he exclaimed.

Sebastian settled himself next to his boyfriend, his hands on Kurt’s hips, his mouth poised teasingly close to Kurt’s cock.  He licked the head lightly, and Kurt’s hips twitched.

“C’mon,” Kurt urged.

Sebastian smiled, then, and moved his hands slightly, grasping Kurt’s hips from the sides rather than pushing them down, leaving Kurt to move unimpeded.

“I wanna try something,” Sebastian said.

“What is it?” Kurt asked as he rolled his hips up towards Sebastian.

“I don’t want you to hold back,” Sebastian said.  “Will you fuck my mouth?”

“Will I - Jesus, Bas!” Kurt panted.

Sebastian smiled before moving his mouth back to Kurt’s erection.  Kurt twined his fingers in Sebastian’s hair, not tugging yet, just gripping.  He took several slow breaths as Sebastian swallowed him down, relaxing his throat, taking him to the root.

Kurt moaned, his fingers tightening in Sebastian’s hair, and Sebastian felt the twinge of pain as a bolt of arousal, originating in his scalp but manifesting in his cock, pinging the nerves throughout his body with heat.  As he groaned around Kurt’s cock, Kurt bucked up, and suddenly Sebastian was swallowing past his gag reflex, taking in deliberate breaths through his nose.

Kurt moved one hand out of Sebastian’s hair to cup his jaw, and as he thrust into Sebastian’s mouth, he pulled Sebastian further onto him, too.  Sebastian’s nose was buried in the wiry hair at the base of Kurt’s cock, and when Kurt bottomed out in the back of Sebastian’s throat, Sebastian tilted his head slightly, nuzzling into Kurt and getting a different angle on his cock at the same time.

They continued, and before long Sebastian’s jaw was aching.  It hurt, of course, but at the same time the feeling was satisfying, because he knew that it was inextricably connected to how his boyfriend was falling apart before him, losing his iron control and keening with pleasure.

Even as he used Sebastian’s mouth, Kurt attended to Sebastian’s comfort in a way that seemed unconscious.  The hand that was cupping Sebastian’s jaw loosened, just slightly, and Kurt’s thumb rubbed small circles, soothing the ache there while he thrust.

Sebastian felt silly thinking of it in these terms, but he couldn’t figure out how else to put it - he was in the _zone_ right now with this blowjob.  His aching jaw and the slightly awkward angle and the nuisance of a gag reflex over which he has imperfect control - these inconveniences disappear behind his focus on pleasing Kurt, and how that made _him_ feel: warm, proud, and so connected - with Kurt, with life, with himself and with his own pleasure.  It was like a feedback loop of pure contentment, drowning out everything else.

And then Kurt was coming, his hands tightening on Sebastian’s hair and face, his hips stuttering up, up, then stilling as he spilled down Sebastian’s throat.  Sebastian swallowed, and when Kurt withdrew, all of the discomfort came back to the forefront, and he coughed hard, then cracked his neck before smiling at Kurt, and moving up the bed to lay next to him. 

“That was… fucking amazing,” Kurt concluded.

Sebastian gathered Kurt against him and smirked with pride.  “Glad you enjoyed yourself,” he said.  His smirk softened to a genuine smile when he looked down at Kurt, relaxed and sleepy with satisfaction.   _He looks so fucking_ sweet _like this_ , Sebastian thought, kissing the top of his head.  Still, he couldn’t help but take advantage of the moment.

“I love the sounds you make,” Sebastian said, his voice deliberately, teasingly low.  Kurt snuggled into Sebastian’s chest with a pleased chuckle.  “I’m just saying,” Sebastian continued, “I hope New Directions is taking advantage of how you hit those high notes.”

“Most of the competition set isn’t a great fit for me,” Kurt demurred.  “Except maybe ‘What Doesn’t Kill You.’  I mean, I think I could do Kelly Clarkson - wait... damn it, Bas!” Kurt whined, realizing what he’d just revealed.

“It’s our secret,” Sebastian smiled,  “as long as you remember, I _did_ get you talking.”

* * *

On the day of Regionals, The Warblers drew the first performance slot, and Sebastian found himself afflicted with unaccustomed nerves.  He had lead vocals on both songs, and he’d helped choreograph more interesting routines than the step-touch that the Warblers were used to, but neither of these were the problem, _per se_.  The problem was Kurt, his _boyfriend_ , would be sitting in the audience watching, and Sebastian was, for the first time, in the position of caring deeply what another person thought of his efforts.  Added to that, the complication that Kurt was actually competing against him - and, well, Sebastian was twitching with nerves, drumming his fingers on every flat surface within his reach in the classroom that the Warblers had been assigned as a dressing room.

“Quit it, Seb, you’re just making everyone nervous,” Jeff said shortly.

To busy his hands, Sebastian took out his phone, thinking to text Kurt.

> **To Kurt** : 

The message blinked, empty in front of him, and Sebastian realized that he didn’t know what to say.  It was another unaccustomed feeling and he stared at his phone as if willing it to pull a witty, charming message from the ether.  He didn’t know how long he spent like that - looking contemplative but in reality, blank - before Nick was shaking him gently by the shoulder.

“We’re up,” Nick said, offering Sebastian a hand and pulling him to his feet.

Once he was on stage, Sebastian was able to lose himself in the performance that he’d practiced so many times.  He got through the first song, _Stand_ , on pure muscle memory, hitting the notes and sticking the moves that he’d perfected over hours of practice.  He looked at the audience in general, not at people in particular, until the New Directions stood to clap along and Sebastian caught sight of Kurt.

_Stand_ was a relatively physical routine compared to what the Warblers were used to, and Sebastian felt lucky that he’d marked breathing intervals and rehearsed them just as carefully as any other aspect of the performance, because otherwise he was sure that his breath would have caught in his throat at an inopportune moment.  Sure, Sebastian knew that Kurt was gorgeous - it was the first thing he’d ever noticed about him, sitting like a classical statue in a dingy bar - but sometimes it struck him completely afresh, and this was one of those times.  

Sebastian took a deep breath, and the Warblers launched into _Glad You Came_.  Now Sebastian was singing to Kurt.

It was an unconventional serenade - sung during a competition, to a competitor, without any kind of spoken dedication or indication of who it was for, but Sebastian was sure that Kurt knew.  As he sang to Kurt, their eyes locked, and on the final chorus Sebastian gave Kurt a deliberate look, then an unmistakable wink.  The Warblers concluded the song, and Sebastian caught sight of Santana, practically in Quinn’s lap and climbing over an auditorium seat to whisper in Kurt’s ear, his boyfriend blushing hotly.  Well, Sebastian _was_ glad that Kurt came.


End file.
